Report on the civilian impact of Turkey's operations in KRI

At least 98 civilians were killed in Turkish military's attacks in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) between 2015-2021, while thousands of people were forced to leave their homes, according to a recent report by the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Iraq.

The report, released on Tuesday, observes that Turkish forces have launched more than 4,000 aerial, artillery, and ground attacks within the borders of Iraq, of which 1,600 were carried out in 2021 alone.

"Not solely have these operations fueled insecurity and instability in the area, but they disproportionately impacted the lives of civilians living in the region," the report pointed out.

Some of the findings are:

Turkish military actions have killed 98 to 123 civilians in at least deadly 88 incidents within six years.

The incidents involving civilian casualties have been on the rise in recent years, with at least 40 deadly incidents in 2020 and 2021.

More than 55 farmers were killed or wounded by Turkish forces while they were involved in their daily activities.

13% of the fatalities are women. At least six children were killed in the attacks, with a further 14 children injured.

Around 500 villages ere abandoned in the same period.

"We should not wait longer to report on more incidents. Instead, we must together seek and take action for peace for the Iraqi people. Only if we act together can we prevent the tragedy of history from repeating itself in this land," said Mohammed Salah, a member of the CPT.

The CPT is an international network set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas across the world.