Urgent Appeal

Imminent Humanitarian Crisis in the Mahmur Refugee Camp
The Mahmur Refugee Camp, home to over 13,000 Kurdish refugees, has endured many hardships,
including military assaults.’ Turkish military airstrikes on the camp on 6 December 2017 and 13
December 2018 killed 8 camp residents and injured others, and a new wave of attacks and pressure
on the Mahmur Camp began on 19 July.
After the l7iuly attack in the Huqqabaz restaurant in Erbiltargeting employees of Turkey’s MIT
(National Intelligence Agency) which left three people dead, the security forces of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) closed all ways in and out of the Mahmur Camp, which is now surrounded
and under a strict embargo.
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The recent attacks began on 19 July 2019 at 00:10, when at east 3 bombs were dropped in
the vicinity of the camp from the air.
Two civilians were buried under falling earth due to the explosions. The wounded were
rescued and taken to the hospital by camp residents, and both are now doing well.
The bombing also damaged the vineyards and orchards of the camp residents.
That same day, security forces of the KDP arrested civilian residents of the camp. The
families of those arrested have not yet been able to see their relatives, and no information
about them is available.
Since 19 July, entering and leaving the camp has been prohibited. No one is allowed to leave
the camp, not even for medical or other emergencies.
Camp residents who work outside the camp are not allowed to leave the camp, and many
camp residents who work in cities like Erbil have lost their jobs.
Discrimination, harassment and psychological pressure are exerted upon camp residents.
On going threats of violence are forcing camp residents to leave the Kurdistan Region and
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While the People’s Council of the Mahmur Refugee Camp has made dear that the camp’s residents
have nothing to do with the attack in the Huqqabaz restaurant, the aggression and other forms of
pressure against the camp are increasing. The Mahmur Camp is now under serious threat, and the
camp’s residents have littie access to food, medical care, and work. The residents are increasingly
isolated, their basic needs are ignored, and they live under a de facto state of emergency.
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A Brief Overview of the Mahmur Refugee Camp

Mahmur (Makhmourl is a town 60 kilometres (40 miles) southwest of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of lraq. The
Mahmur Refugee Camp, located in Mahmur, is a refugee camp recognised by the United Nations that, since 1998, has
been home to thousands of refugees from Northern Kurdistan (Turkey). Many of the camp’s residents were forced to flee
their homes in Northern Kurdistan in 1993-1994 as the Turkish State pursued a brutal campaign of aggression against the
Kurdish people, denying the existence of the Kurdish people, prohibiting the expression of Kurdish identity, and
suppressing Kurdish culture, while using its military to destroy thousands of villages and displace hundreds of thousands of
people. Since its founding, the population of the Mahmur camp has grown to over 13,000, with many children of camp
residents being bom stateless. The Mahmur Camp has a strategic location, serving as the gateway to Southern Kurdistan
(lraq) from the south. In August 2014, as 1515 was overrunning large parts of lraq and Syria, the terrorist organisation
targeted Mahmur as a step to advancing on Erbil, the capital and largest city of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. 1515 invaded
and occupied the camp, though the people of Mahmur joined other fighters in resisting the advance of 1515, and militia,
self-defence forces, women and youth alike, finally expelled ISIS after days of fighting, preventing a catastrophic invasion of
Southern Kurdistan by mounting resistance on behalf of all humanity and not allowing lSlS to pass. After this victory, Mr.
Massoud Barzani, then President of the Kurdistan Region of lraq, visited the Mahmur Camp and expressed his thanks to
the self-defence forces there for their role in this victory.

We, the residents of the Mahmur Camp, believe that the attacks and aggression perpetrated by the
Turkish state against us will intensify as long as the government of lraq and the United Nations (UN)
remain silent. We have written many letters and issued numerous public statements concerning the
on going embargo and deteriorating situation to representatives of relevant institutions, but
collective silence concerning this threat to human life nonetheless persists.
Until now, neither the government of Iraq nor the UN has shown any reaction to the unlawful
aggression perpetrated by the Turkish state. According to international law, the Turkish military’s
airstrikes are a dear violation of lraq’s sovereignty, and they contravene the international
understandings of the UN and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), which
is tasked with protecting refugees, displaced, and stateless people.
Our urgent cail:
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We cali on the UN, and particularly the UNHCR, to fulfil their duties and take action to
enforce international law and conventions by holding Turkey to account for its attacks on
the Mahmur Camp, home to more than 13,000 refugees. Turkey is itself a signatory to the
UN Charter and international human rights agreements

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We cail on the UN to immediately ensure that the embargo on the Mahmur Camp is lifted,
and that the Mahrnur Camp has access to food supplies and medical care.

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We calI for an end toTurkish military aggression against the Mahmur Camp. 1f Turkey is
allowed to act with impunity, it will continue targeting the residents of the Mahmur Camp,
resulting in more death and destruction.

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The government of Iraq must take responsibility for crimes committed against civilians living
within Iraq’s borders who have now been targeted by military airstrikes using Iraqi airspace.
We therefore call on the government of Iraq to act against this violation of its sovereignty.

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We caIl the international corn munity, the human rights defenders, and civil society to react
against the illegal, deadly acts of Turkish military aggression against the Mahmur Camp

Democratic People’s Council of the Mahmur Refugee Camp
30 July 2019