Iraqi political figures and legal experts suggest moves over Duhok attack

Iraqi political representatives and legal experts presented their opinions regarding possible steps by the Iraqi government over the deadly Duhok attack that killed nine people and injured 23 on 20 July.

Parliamentary Security Committee, Yasser Watut, said to Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "the Turkish bombing is a violation of international law and human rights and amounts to a war crime as it targeted civilians."

Calling for moves in response to the attack, Watut stated that the foreign ministry should invite the united Nations Security Council to hold a special session to condemn the attack and to issue a UN resolution in this regard, while it also should call upon Turkey to pay compensation to the families of victims.

He added that the government should call on the Iraqi Parliament to pass a resolution that considers the presence of Turkish forces in Iraqi soil a violation of sovereignty, and to demand Turkey to immediately withdraw its forces from Iraq.

Measures to stop trade and tourism exchange with Turkey should be taken, he stressed.

Haider Al-Salami, a representative of imtidad movement, a civil protest movement against corruption, called for the immediate expulsion of the Turkish ambassador from Baghdad, the submission of an international protest note by the government to the UN Security Council, stopping all commercial transactions with Turkey, preventing the import of Turkish goods, and stopping Turkish banks operating in Iraq.

Legal experts

Legal expert Faisal Rikan stated that "after the repeated Turkish attacks on Iraqi soil by Turkey in various areas in the region under various pretexts, it became imperative for the Iraqi government to move strongly and take appropriate measures to respond."

He said:

"Iraq's submission of a complaint to the Security Council that includes all the violations and attacks that occurred from the Turkish side is a very important step, since the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Convention completely forbid aggression by one country against another and prevent the occupation of the territory of any country or the presence of foreign forces in it without its consent, especially since the relations of the two countries are normal and there is no state of war between them."

'The case may be referred to the International Court of Justice'

Legal expert Ali al-Tamimi confirmed that "Turkey's violations in Iraq violate Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Charter of the United Nations, which obligate all countries to respect the sovereignty of other countries."

He said:

"The bombing of Iraq's safe cities is considered a crime of genocide in accordance with the 1948 Genocide Prevention Convention, pointing to the possibility that Iraq may seek the assistance of Article 9 of this Convention and resort to the International Court of Justice."

Another expert, Majid Mijbas, stressed the need to internationalize the issue, noting that "Turkish violations have been repeated, including the abuse of Iraq's water share of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and Iraq bears a lot of loss of life and financial loss."