EC Meeting July 2022

TESTIMONIES Most taken in December 2021 with an interpreter. A

The attacks came days after the bombing of the Makhmour Refugee Camp, which is dealt with in a separate section of the report. Officials at the time called for war crimes investigations to be opened, but world bodies remained silent and no probe has taken place. Later that month residents of Berwari Bala were forced to flee their homes due to the intensity of the artillery fire and cattle were slaughtered by the invaders, which one agricultural worker told me included members of jihadist groups wearing Turkish army uniforms. As reported in the Morning Star, air strikes were reported to have targeted agricultural land — Turkey has already destroyed thousands of acres of forest and green land that Kurdish villagers rely on for food. “Intense bombings carried out by the invading Turkish army caused serious material damage in the settlements, vineyards and gardens belonging to our people,” officials told me at the time. “Houses were destroyed by Turkish shelling, electricity cut and infrastructure was damaged.” I was able to enter the affected area and the villages under attack including Hirure, Kesta Chalke Kani Masi and Bewari Bala. It must be stressed that the areas were under tight control and teeming with both Turkish intelligence services and KDP Parastin intelligence services. Both are unofficially working together in the area and residents say they are regularly threatened. Access is very difficult and there is a general reluctance to allow foreigners, particularly journalists to enter unless they are embedded with government officials. Of course this gives a skewed narrative and these kind of visits are very tightly controlled. I was told very clearly that I would not be allowed to enter by official means and would be blocked and most likely detained if I was caught. But, thanks to connections, I was able to make my way into the so-called red zone and meet with villagers, medics and others.

“Please Steve, thank you so much for coming. It is important the world hears our story. We are very frightened. We are being killed and attacked every day. If they find you here they will kill you. And if they know we have spoken to you they will kill us. Who will kill you? Who do you mean? Barazani. He is helping Turkey. PDK [Kurdistan Democratic Party] will kill us or Turkey will kill us. They are the same. There are many intelligence services here. They sometimes stay in the bases together. Can you tell me what has happened since April? “Turkey has been dropping bombs on our villages and on our land every day. They [soldiers] come and threaten us. They say we are PKK and that we are helping guerrilla. But they are not here. There are no PKK in the village. “I am a teacher but now most of the people here have left. There are only a few of us that stayed. Most went to Duhok with family. My neighbours went to Slemani. But we could not leave. “It is like a living hell. The bombs start at night time and shooting. But it happens in the day time too. I was affected by gas. It came in the field after Turkey bombed us. What kind of bombing, from a plane or drone? “No, it was from the ground. I don’t know what it was. But afterwards I could not breathe. My lungs felt like fire. I am still coughing because of it today. When did this happen? “I remember it was August and I had been collecting some things [?] from the field

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