The PKK turns Makhmour refugee camp into a base for its militants

Makhmour camp, which was established in the nineties of the last century, to house Kurdish refugees fleeing from Turkey, affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), located near Makhmour district (southeast of Mosul), the situation there remained relatively normal until late 2014, and the start of the war against ISIS, when PKK militants took control of it and turned it into a paramilitary camp.

An Iraqi official revealed last June that Turkey had complained to Baghdad about "terrorist activities launched by the PKK from its camp in Makhmour against Turkey," adding that security leaders and local officials investigated the Turkish complaint and informed the government that Makhmour camp is controlled by PKK fighters and they do not allow government forces to enter it.

Reuters quoted the Iraqi official (unnamed) as saying that "Makhmour camp is being used as one of the logistical centers in the attacks on Turkey or on the Turkish armed forces...It is time to clear it of the PKK."

The coordinator of international reports in the Kurdistan Regional Government, Dindar Zibari, said that there is no official institution affiliated with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Makhmour camp and that the number of camp residents is increasing without having any names or addresses in the official records of the regional government.

He continued, that according to the information available to them, the camp is also devoid of any United Nations institution or department that is supposed to be supervising the camp, which, according to the available information, is visited only by the Mosul branch of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR.

Zibari explained that despite this, the regional government did not put any obstacles in the way of the movement of the camp's residents, especially workers, students, and patients who can enter Erbil on a regular basis.

In turn, the official of the Makhmour branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Kurmanc Abdullah, had previously told (BasNews) that hundreds of PKK militants are controlling the camp and turning it into a camp for them, pointing out that these gunmen have set up a military court inside the camp to hold accountable those who oppose them.

Last April, Dindar Zibari said that the Makhmour camp was used for military and political purposes, which prevents international organizations from playing a role in it.

Zibari explained that "Makhmour camp includes 11,000 refugees and since 2003 it has turned into a paramilitary camp and is used for military training and the movements and organizations of one of the parties (referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party) and has lost its civilian character."

Coordinator of international recommendations in the Kurdistan Regional Government, he continued by saying, "Despite the attempts of the regional government since 2005 to preserve the civilian character of the camp, especially when there was a presence on the ground of the regional government in Makhmour district (withdrew from it after the events of October 16, 20017), but unfortunately, one of the Kurdish parties using the camp for military and intelligence purposes has narrowed the civilians in it and is still continuing,” adding, “We have tried a lot to protect the camp and work with international organizations to serve its residents and prevent military manifestations in it but to no avail.”

Source: BasNews

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