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166 border-right: 1pt solid #21610B; 167 border-top: 1pt solid #928B8B; 168 border-bottom: 0pt solid #928B8B;"> 169 170<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-left:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:left;line-height:140%;"> 171 172<marquee behavior="alternate" height="20pt" bgcolor="#A9F5F2" width="10%"> 173<span style="font-size:9pt;color:navy">>> 174</span></marquee> 175 176<marquee height="15pt" width="78%" behavior="ALTERNATE" bgcolor="#A9F5F2" scrollamount="2" scrolldelay="0"> 177<a href="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/ethnic-distribution.jpg" target="_parent"> 178<span lang="AR-SA" style="line-height:140%;font-size:10pt; font-family:verdana;color:navy"> 179SOITM's Map of North of Iraq - Ethnic Distribution of Non-ruling Communities (Minorities) 180</span></a></marquee> 181 182<marquee behavior="alternate" height="14pt" bgcolor="#A9F5F2" width="10%"> 183<span style="font-size:9pt;color:navy"><< 184</span></marquee></p> 185 186 187 <!--end of containing FIFTH div--> 188 </td></tr><tr> 189 <td align="center" width="100%" colspan="2" valign="top" style=" 190 align: center; 191 border-left: 1pt solid #21610B; 192 border-right: 1pt solid #21610B; 193 border-bottom: 4pt solid #FE642E; 194 border-top: 0pt solid #f1Fff5; 195 background: #259A9A;"> 196<table width="90%" border="0" bordercolorlight="#21610B"> 197<tbody><tr><td bgcolor=""><a href="http://www.turkmen.nl/"><span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Home 198</span></a></td><td bgcolor=""><a href="http://www.turkmen.nl/1A_soitm/HR_Doc.html"><span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">HRs Documents 199</span></a></td><td bgcolor=""><a href="http://unami.unmissions.org/"><span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">UNAMI 200</span></a></td><td bgcolor=""> <a href="http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml"><span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff"> Universal DHR 201</span></a></td><td bgcolor=""><a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/Pages/MinoritiesIndex.aspx"> <span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Minority Rights 202</span></a></td><td bgcolor=""><a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/groups/groups-01.htm"><span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Rights of IP 203</span></a></td><td bgcolor=""><a href="http://www.un.org/en/strengtheningtheun/index.shtml"> <span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Reform at UN 204</span></a></td><td width="108pt" bgcolor=""><a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx"> <span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Universal PR 205</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table> 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 <!--end of containing SOITM Pub div--> 232 <TR> 233 <TD 234 width= 100% 235 Align= center 236 colspan= 2 237 valign= top 238 style=" 239 height: pt; 240 background: #F0FDFD; 241 border: 1pt solid #21610B"> 242 243 244<div id="container"> 245 <div style=" 246 margin-bottom: 3pt; 247 margin-top: 3pt; 248 border: 1pt solid #C5F2C3; 249 background: #f8Fff5; 250 width: 95%; 251 float: center;"> 252 <div style=" 253 background: #259A9A; 254 height: 25pt; 255 float: center; 256 border: 1pt solid #EAFCED"> 257 258<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" dir="RTL" 259 style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-left:3pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-align:center;direction:rtl;unicode-bidi:embed"> 260 <b><span lang="AR-SA" 261 style="line-height:160%;font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif" 262 mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;color:#ffffff"> 263Publications of SOITM 264</span></b><b><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;color:#C00000'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 265 </div> 266 </div> 267 </div> 268 269 <!--end of containing div--> 270 271 272 <TABLE 273 width= 85% 274 style=" 275 height: pt; 276 margin-bottom: 10pt; 277 border: 1pt dotted #21610B; 278 align: center; "> 279 280 281 282 283 <TD 284 width= 100% 285 colspan= 286 valign= top 287 style=" 288 border: 1pt solid #660566; 289 align: center; 290 background: ; 291 Padding: 20px;"> 292 293<div class=WordSection1> 294 295<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 296140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 297Dark Era of the Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu District under the Protection of the 298Kurdish Parties and the Peshmerga (2003-2017) *<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 299 300<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 301140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Sheth 302<span class=SpellE>Jerjis</span> ** <o:p></o:p></span></p> 303 304<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 305140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Journal
306of The Association for the Study of <span class=SpellE>EthnoGeoPolitics</span> 307(EGP) Forum of <span class=SpellE>EthnoGeoPolitics</span> Vol.12 Nos.1-2 Winter 3082024<o:p></o:p></span></p> 309 310<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 311140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 312 313<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 314140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Abstract 315This article seeks to provide details and revealing insights about the 316difficult, indeed dire conditions experienced by the Turkmen in the district of 317Tuz Khurmatu, due to the policies of the Kurdish parties and the <span 318class=SpellE>behaviour</span> of the Peshmerga fighters, who <span 319class=SpellE>monopolised</span> the administration and governance of the 320district, along with other Turkmen areas, after the fall of the Ba'ath regime 321led by Saddam Hussein in April 2003, for 11 years until mid-2014, and with the 322Shi'ite armed factions since then until October 2017. This occurred at a time 323when the Iraqi state had collapsed and the rule of law was absent, and the 324Kurdish parties were the second largest force in the administration of the 325Iraqi state after the international, US-led coalition forces. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 326 327<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 328140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 329article also examines the ethnic and sectarian composition of the Tuz Khurmatu 330district, the suffering of the district's Turkmen majority under the ethnic 331cleansing policies practiced by the Ba'ath regime, and the administrative and 332political situation after its fall. It also discusses how Western media, 333strategic <span class=SpellE>centres</span>, and human rights <span 334class=SpellE>organisations</span> dealt with the Turkmen presence in Iraq in 335general, and with the bloody events and the suffering of the Turkmen there 336during the period of study. The article concludes that the Turkmen of Tuz 337Khurmatu experienced the worst period in their history, specifically between 3382003 and 2014, when they were under the sole control of Kurdish parties and 339were 'protected' exclusively by Kurdish security forces and the Peshmerga. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 340 341<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 342140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 343article argues that the Kurdish parties and the Peshmerga played both a direct 344and indirect role in the violent attacks on the Turkmen, and that Western media 345outlets, strategic institutions, and research <span class=SpellE>centres</span> 346did not paint a true picture of those events. Instead, they relied on Kurdish 347politicians and the Peshmerga to gather, provide and interpret information, 348resulting in a lack of neutrality that <span class=SpellE>favoured</span> the 349Kurds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 350 351<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 352140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 353article also shows that the Western approach to the Kurdish issue is 354superficial and biased, influenced by the overwhelming sympathy stemming from 355the largely unintentional exaggeration of Kurdish suffering in Western 356publications and the influence of Western political approaches. It also argues 357that Western studies of the Anfal campaigns (April-May 1988) lack adherence to 358scientific principles and rely entirely on Kurdish narratives, with all their 359attendant exaggerations and biases. As a result, thousands of inaccurate 360reports, articles and studies have emerged, portraying the operation as a fable 361brutal myth. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 362 363<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 364140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>These 365criticisms target the credibility of Western strategic <span class=SpellE>centres</span>, 366including the media, human rights <span class=SpellE>organisations</span> and 367academic research <span class=SpellE>centres</span>, which should rightly cast 368doubt on their integrity. Therefore, these Western <span class=SpellE>centres</span> 369are required to review their claims regarding the number of Kurdish victims in 370the Anfal campaign, which they estimated at between 50,000 and 200,000 people, 371while adhering to the principles of scientific research.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 372 373<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 374140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><b>Keywords</b> Tuz Khurmatu, Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Turkmen,
375violence, Kurdish parties, Islamic State, Islamic state (ISIS), Peshmerga 376fighters, Iraq<o:p></o:p></span></p> 377 378<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 379140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 380 381<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 382140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 383 384<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 385140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Nationalist 386sentiments have dominated Middle Eastern societies since the beginning of the 387twentieth century, and because Iraq has been part of this region, their impact 388on the multiethnic Iraqi society has been profound. Arab nationalist sentiments 389reached their peak in Iraq with the Ba'ath Party (<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>حزب 390البعث</span><span dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>), 391while Kurdish nationalist sentiments reached their peak with the launch of the 392Kurdish armed movement against the Iraqi state in the early 1961. On the other 393hand, nationalist sentiments among Iraq's smaller communities, the third 394largest of which is the Turkmen, grew with the same momentum, prompting them to 395insist on demanding their ethnic and cultural rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 396 397<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 398140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 399events that followed the fall of the Ba'ath regime in Iraq <span class=SpellE>fuelled</span> 400ethnical and religious conflicts. Iraqi society is a mosaic of diverse sects 401and religions. The challenges faced by Iraqi society, including racist 402dictatorship, ongoing wars and an economic blockade, have exacerbated internal 403divisions and conflicts. The absence of a democratic culture and system has 404made smaller, less powerful communities, such as the Turkmen, who lack the 405means to protect themselves and their regions, vulnerable to all forms of human 406rights violations.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 407 408<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 409140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Iraqi 410Turkmen have suffered from this situation since the establishment of the Iraqi 411state in 1921. Their numbers were deliberately reduced immediately after the 412declaration of the Iraqi state, and this process continues to this dayâalthough 413this intentionally reduction in their population size has been somewhat 414abandoned after the fall of the Ba'ath regime. Moreover, education in the 415Turkmen language was abolished in the 1930s, and their presence in state 416institutions dwindled over time. The Ba'ath regime violated the most basic 417human rights, extending to all Iraqi communities, with the Turkmen being the 418most affected. For example, vast Turkmen lands were confiscated, the 419demographic composition of their regions was altered, and they were forced to 420change their ethnicity to Arab. The Turkmen's adherence to their national 421culture, the oil wealth of their regions and the fertility of their lands have 422been among the most important reasons why they were subjected to the injustice 423of the fanatical racist nationalist powers that usurped the reins of government 424in Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 425 426<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 427140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Shi'ite 428Turkmen suffered from the Ba'ath regime's racism on both the national and 429sectarian levels. Tuz Khurmatu is one of their most important areas, where 430their suffering and rights violations have been widespread and ethnically 431based. At the sectarian level, large numbers of the district's citizens were 432arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment or death on the pretext of 433belonging to secret Shiite parties. Many of them disappeared without any 434information or trace of their whereabouts. Their areas were subjected to 435attacks and artillery shelling by the army and armed Ba'athist militias after 436the Second Gulf War in 1990 during the Sha'ban uprising. The Dutch 437anthropologist Van <span class=SpellE>Bruinessen</span> observed that the 438"Shiite Turkmen city of Tuz Khurmatu was destroyed" (Van <span class=SpellE>Bruinessen</span> 4392005: 46).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 440 441<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 442140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 443fall of the Ba'ath regime in 2003 was followed by a period of chaos and 444catastrophe in Iraq. The state collapsed, along with the security and military 445apparatuses. Laws lost their force, security stability was completely lost, and 446sectarian conflicts emerged. This coincided with the onset of various terrorist 447attacks across Iraq, reflecting acutely in the Turkmen regions, as most of 448these were and are religiously and ethnically mixed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 449 450<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 451140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 452complete control of the Kurdish parties and Peshmerga fighters over almost <span 453class=GramE>all of</span> northern Iraq immediately after the fall of the 454Ba'ath regime and for more than a decade after it, posed another extreme 455challenge to the Turkmen regions, no less serious than the sectarian conflicts 456of the same period. The Kurdish parties claim ownership of almost all Turkmen 457lands, considering these historically Kurdish lands and incorporating into the 458map and constitution of the Kurdish region. This monopoly enabled the Kurdish 459parties to <span class=SpellE>monopolise</span> power in Iraq immediately after 460the US-led occupation, with the full support of the latter's coalition forces, 461to place almost all Turkmen lands within the disputed territories, thus casting 462doubt on the Iraqi and Turkmen identity of these regions (Kane 2011: 46313-14,22,32,37).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 464 465<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 466140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> 467 468<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 469140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>General 470information <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 471 472<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 473140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Tuz 474(Duz) Khurmatu is a Turkmen name meaning salt, dates, and berries, which was a 475subdistrict of <span class=SpellE>Kifri</span> District in the Kirkuk 476Governorate. In 1922, it became a subdistrict of <span class=SpellE>Tawuq</span> 477(<span class=SpellE>Daquq</span>) in the same governorate (Edmonds 1957: 277). 478In 1951, it became a district of Kirkuk Governorate. In 1976, as part of the <span 479class=SpellE>Arabisation</span> policy pursued by the Ba'ath regime aimed to 480reduce the Turkmen population density in Kirkuk governorate, Tuz Khurmatu was 481separated from the Kirkuk and annexed to the Salah al-Din governorate, despite 482being closer to the central city of Kirkuk than to the central city of Salah 483al-Din Governorate. Additionally, the district forms a promontory approximately 48460 km eastward in relation to Salah al-Din Governorate, indicating that its 485connection to Salah al-Din is political in nature. The Tuz Khurmatu district 486also included the <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> subdistrict until 2018, when 487the latter became a district.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 488 489<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 490140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 491Tuz Khurmatu district is located 75 km south of Kirkuk governorate. The 492district consists of dozens of villages and three subdistricts: Markaz, <span 493class=SpellE>Amerli</span> and Sulayman Bek. <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> 494separated from Tuz in 2018 and became an independent district. Tuz District had 495a population of 30,000 in 1922 (Edmonds 1957: 277). In the 1957 census, the 496population of the district's central sub-district, which covered roughly the 497same area as today's Tuz district, was 88,466 (Principal bureau of statistics 4981958: 15). In the censuses of 1977, 1987, and 1997, the population of Tuz 499district was estimated at 61,744, 86,471, and 115,942, respectively (al-B
499ayati 5002014: 60). In the 2018 estimates, the population of the district, including <span 501class=SpellE>Amerli</span>, was 191,729. The area of Tuz Khurmatu district, 502along with <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span>, is 2,316 square <span 503class=SpellE>kilometres</span> (Central Statistical <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 5042018: 278). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 505 506<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 507140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Ethnic 508composition<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 509 510<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 511140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Tuz 512Khurmatu is considered one of the Turkmen regions least exposed to Kurdish and 513Arab migration compared to many other Turkmen regions, such as the many regions 514in Kirkuk Governorate and the city of Erbil city (<span class=SpellE>Jerjis</span> 5152022: 76). <span class=GramE>The vast majority of</span> Arabs in Tuz Khurmatu 516are <span class=SpellE>Arabised</span> Turkmen from the Bayat Turkmen tribe, 517who reside mainly in the Sulayman Bek subdistrict and some of its villages, as 518well as other villages in the district. They are accompanied by a small pocket 519of the Arab Albu Hamdan tribe and some other Arab tribes, particularly in the 520Al-<span class=SpellE>Hlewa</span> area. The Kurds in the district live in the <span 521class=SpellE>centre</span>, and there are a few Kurdish villages to the east of 522Tuz Khurmatu.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 523 524<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 525140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>It 526can be said that Kurdish migration westward to the Turkmen regions was 527relatively smaller the further south one went. Kirkuk accounted for the largest 528share, due to its economic recovery <span class=GramE>as a result of</span> oil 529extraction, while Tuz Khurmatu's share of the Kurdish immigration was smaller 530than Erbil and Kirkuk's. Until the 1950s, when Kurdish migration to Kirkuk was 531massive, their arrival in Tuz Khurmatu was less frequent.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 532 533<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 534140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>After 535the declaration of the republic in Iraq in 1958, Abdul Karim Qasim's government 536has built <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> in many Iraqi cities, naming 537these the <span class=SpellE>Iskan</span> or al-<span class=SpellE>Jumhuriya</span> 538<span class=SpellE>Neighbourhood</span>. Kurds acquired most of these houses in 539the Tuz Khurmatu city and the city of Kirkuk. The influx of Kurds continued 540into Turkmen areas with the start of the armed Kurdish movement (<span 541lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الحركة الكردية 542المسلحة</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 543dir=LTR></span>) in the north in 1961, interspersed with periods of increasing 544numbers as events unfolded, like for example:<o:p></o:p></span></p> 545 546<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 547140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 548style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>With the collapse of the Kurdish 549movement in 1975, after the conclusion of the Algiers Agreement between Baghdad 550and Tehran.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 551 552<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 553140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 554style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>With the Kurdish Aghas (rural notables) 555selling their lands to the Iraqi government in the second half of the 1970s, 556particularly from the <span class=SpellE>Surji</span>, Khailani, and Khoshnaw 557tribes, this led to the displacement of large numbers of Kurdish villagers from 558their mountainous regions to cities and villages in <span class=SpellE>neighbouring</span> 559governorates, including Turkmen areas such as Erbil city, Kirkuk governorate, 560Tuz Khurmatu district and Diyala governorate.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 561 562<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 563140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 564style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>With the Ba'ath government demolishing <span 565class=GramE>a large number of</span> villages in the northern provinces, 566particularly Kurdish ones, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which triggered 567another large wave of Kurdish displacement. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 568 569<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 570140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 571style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>With the Anfal operations of 1987 and 5721988, which were followed by the migration of larger waves of Kurds to Turkmen 573districts and cities.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 574 575<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 576140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 577Tuz Khurmatu district had its share of these migrations. The Jamila district, 578an unofficial name, emerged within the predominantly Kurdish Al-<span 579class=SpellE>Jumhuriya</span> <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> toward 580the end of the 1970s following the migration of Kurds, particularly from 581villages in the Qadir Karam subdistrict in the eastern part of the Tuz Khurmatu 582district.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 583 584<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 585140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>After 586the fall of the Ba'ath regime in 2003, and with the northern part of Iraq 587remaining under the control of Kurdish parties and their militants, it was easy
588for them to bring in thousands of families from Kurdish areas and settle them 589in all Turkmen areas. They built illegal housing on municipal, government, and 590Turkmen lands, and took control of all government buildings, housing Kurdish 591families in these or turning these into headquarters for Kurdish parties or the 592Peshmerga. The same events happened in most areas of northern Iraq, 593particularly in Kirkuk governorate. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 594 595<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 596140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 597the Tuz Khurmatu district, Kurdish families-built hundreds of homes on a vast 598expanse of land between the Al-<span class=SpellE>Jumhuriya</span> and Jamila <span 599class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> on one side and the mountains east of the 600city on the other. Both <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> expanded to 601several times their original size. <span class=GramE>The vast majority of</span> 602Kurdish families were not residents of the district but had migrated from the 603east. When the Iraqi army entered the city on November 17, 2017, all 604Kurdsâfamilies, employees, and Peshmergaâleft the district in fear of 605retribution and all of them returned seven to eight months later, <span 606class=GramE>with the exception of</span> the Peshmerga, security forces and 607employees who had abused the Turkmen. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 608 609<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 610140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Thus, 611most of the Kurds who entered the district after the fall of the regime 612remained in Tuz Khurmatu. As for the expulsion of families from Tuz Khurmatu 613during the Ba'ath regime, the number of Turkmen people expelled reached in the 614hundreds, while the number of Kurds expelled did not exceed a few dozen 615families.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 616 617<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 618140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 619for the Turkmen areas in Tuz Khurmatu, the district <span class=SpellE>centre</span>, 620which contains more than half of the district's population, and the city of <span 621class=SpellE>Amerli</span>, the overwhelming majority are Turkmen. The <span 622class=SpellE>centre</span> of Sulayman Bek district is home to an overwhelming 623majority of residents belonging to the <span class=SpellE>Arabised</span> 624Turkmen Bayat tribe, with one-tenth of the population speaking Turkmen as their 625first language. Turkmen also inhabit many villages in the <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> 626district, the largest of which are Bir <span class=SpellE>Awchili</span>, <span 627class=SpellE>Chardaghli</span>, and Qara Naz, as well as villages in the 628Sulayman Bek district, and some villages of the Tuz Khurmatu city, including 629the large village of Yengija.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 630 631<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 632140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Thus, 633although Tuz Khurmatu is considered a historical Turkmen district, and the 634Turkmen still constitute the vast majority there despite significant Arab and 635Kurdish migration, many Western sources err in presenting an ethnic composition 636that is contrary to the reality of the population of Tuz Khurmatu. They either 637present equal proportions of nationalities (Gaston 2018: 52), mention Kurds 638first (European Asylum Support Office 2018: 2; Human Rights Watch 2017), or 639mention Turkmen as a third nationality (International <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 640for Migration 2024A: 1). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 641 642<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 643140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 644is the case in all Turkmen regions, many Western sources exaggerate the size of 645the Kurdish presence in Tuz Khurmatu. For example, a Zoom News report indicates 646that "the Kurdish population in Tuz Khurmatu has decreased to 30% due to the 647Arabization campaign" (Zoom News 2024). However, today, after the settlement of 648hundreds of Kurdish families in the district after the fall of the Ba'ath 649regime, the actual percentage of Kurds in the district is much lower than the 650claimed percentage (Kirkuk Now 2024). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 651 652<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 653140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 654for the Kurdish media, their exaggeration in distorting the facts about the 655ethnic distribution of the population of the Turkmen regions in <span 656class=SpellE>
656favour</span> of the Kurds is even more pronounced. In one of its 657reports, the Kurdish <span class=SpellE>Rudaw</span> media network increased 658the percentage of Kurds in the district to 40% (<span class=SpellE>Rudaw</span> 6592017).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 660 661<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 662140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>There 663are international reports that do confirm the Turkmen nature of the Tuz 664district. A report by the United Nations International <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 665for Migration states: "The Tuz Khurmatu district, home to Shia, Sunni Turkmen, 666Sunni Kurds, and Sunni Arab communities, is strategically located on the 667Kirkuk-Baghdad highway in central Iraq. The <span class=SpellE>centre</span> of 668Tuz Khurmatu is Turkmen in origin. Its urban <span class=SpellE>centre</span> 669is composed of Turkmen, Kurds, and Sunni Arab populations" (International <span 670class=SpellE>Organisation</span> for Migration 2024B: 7).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 671 672<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 673140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Today, 674Turkmen constitute 65% of the district's population, Kurds 25% and Arabs 10%. 675These proportions have been agreed upon among the district's components (Kirkuk 676Now 2024). In the city of Tuz Khurmatu, the proportions are as follows: Turkmen 67775%, Kurds 20%, and Arabs 5%.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 678 679<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 680140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Historically, 681<span class=GramE>the vast majority of</span> the names of people, villages, 682plains, valleys and rivers in the Oblique Turkmen Line (Tal Afar-Badra) were 683Turkmen until the early twentieth century (see Map 1 below). For example, Ali 684Yazdi mentioned the names of <span class=SpellE>Daquq</span> and Altun <span 685class=SpellE>Kopru</span> with their Turkmen names in the fourteenth century 686(Yazdi 1723: 451). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 687 688<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 689140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 690Ottoman Almanac dating back to the Ottoman Sultan's conquest of Kirkuk in the 691sixteenth century mentions the names of people, cities, villages, rivers, 692valleys and mountains all with Turkmen names (Nakip 2008: 37-47). Likewise, all 693<span class=SpellE>travellers</span> who passed through the Turkmen Line for 694centuries mentioned these Turkmen names. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 695 696<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 697140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>For 698example, James Claudia Rich, in his journey from Baghdad to Kirkuk, <span 699class=SpellE>Sulaymaniya</span> and to Mosul in 1820, mentioned almost all the 700villages, towns, and districts along the way with Turkmen names. He mentioned 701these names from <span class=SpellE>Kifri</span> until he headed to 702Sulaymaniyah from Kirkuk: <span class=SpellE>Kifri</span>, Kör Dere, Kara <span 703class=SpellE>Oğlan</span>, <span class=SpellE>Kız</span> <span 704class=SpellE>Kalası</span>, <span class=SpellE>Oniki</span> İmam, 705Eski <span class=SpellE>Kifri</span>, <span class=SpellE>Çemen</span>, Bayat 706Plain, Kuru Çay, <span class=SpellE>Kızıl</span> <span class=SpellE>Haraba</span>, 707Aksu River, <span class=SpellE>Yenijeh</span>, Tuz Khurmatu, <span 708class=SpellE>Çubuk</span>, Demir <span class=SpellE>Kapı</span>, <span 709class=SpellE>Tawuq</span>, <span class=SpellE>Kehriz</span>, <span 710class=SpellE>Tawuq</span> <span class=SpellE>Çayi</span>, Ali Saray, <span 711class=SpellE>Jumaila</span>, Matara, Taze Khurmatu, Laylan and Kara Hasan (Rich 7121972).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 713 714<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 715140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 716<span class=SpellE>traveller</span> Rich visited Tuz Khurmatu in 1820 and 717considered the ethnic nature of Tuz Khurmatu to be Turkmen and estimated its 718population at five thousand (Rich 1972: vol. 1, 26, 33). A British political 719officer who served in the Iraqi governments at the highest levels, described 720Tuz Khurmatu as the most important <span class=SpellE>centre</span> of the 721Qizilbash Turkmen sect in the province (Edmonds 1957: 277-278). The League of 722Nations commission that determined the fate of Mosul Vilayet in the 1920s, 723described Tuz Khurmatu as being entirely Turkish or Turkmen (League of Nations 7241924: 38).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 725 726<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 727140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 7282018, a report by the United Nations Development <span class=SpellE>Programme</span> 729(UNDP), supported by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), 730listed Tuz Khurmatu as one of the largest Turkmen-majority areas in Iraq 731considering that Turkmen constitute 7% of the population of the Diyala 732province, stating "<span class=SpellE>Turkomen</span> comprise ca. 7% of the 733population (with significant minority populations in <span class=SpellE>Kifri</span>, 734<span class=SpellE>Muqdadya</span>, Jalawla and Saadiya, and <span 735class=SpellE>Qarataba</span> being among the largest <span class=SpellE>Turkomen</span>-majority 736cities in Iraq)" (United Nations Development <span class=SpellE>Programme</span> 7372018: 29).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 738 739<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 740140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 741for the Kurdish presence in eastern Tuz Khurmatu, it is not ancient. For 742example, the <span class=SpellE>Dawuda</span> tribe constitutes <span 743class=GramE>the majority of</span> Kurds in the eastern part of the district. 744Abbas al-Azzawi and Edmonds estimated their presence there to be 150 years old 745at most (al-Azzawi 1947: 165; Edmonds 1957: 272-273).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 746 747<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 748140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 749 750<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 751140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Map 7521 Turkmen regions on the Oblique Turkmen Line from Tal Afar to Badra<o:p></o:p></span></p> 753 754<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 755140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 756 <span class="editlinktip hasTip" title="" > 757 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/map-tuz-1-e.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 758 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/map-tuz-1-e.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="780pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 759 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 760 761<o:p></o:p></span></p> 762 763 764 765 766 767 768<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 769140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 770style='mso-spacerun:yes'>Â </span>Source: map designed by SOITM Foundation<o:p></o:p></span></p> 771 772<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 773140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 774 775<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 776140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Sectarian 777structure<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 778 779<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 780140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 781sectarian composition of Tuz Khurmatu District is as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p> 782 783<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 784140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 785style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The Turkmen in the cities of Tuz 786Khurmatu and <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span>, and the villages of Bir <span 787class=SpellE>Awchili</span>, <span class=SpellE>Chardaghli</span>, and Qara 788Naz, follow almost entirely the Shi'a sect of Islam.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 789 790<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 791140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 792style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The <span class=SpellE>centre</span> of 793Sulayman Bek subdistrict, many of its villages and the villages of <span 794class=SpellE>Amerli</span> district are entirely follow the Sunni branch of 795Islam. In the large village of Yengija, Sunnis make up 80% of the population.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 796 797<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 798140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 799style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The Arabs and Kurds of the district are 800all of Sunni sect.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 801 802<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 803140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 804style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Even so, there are always some families 805of one sect in the areas of the other sect.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 806 807<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 808140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 809 810<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 811140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 812Ba'ath regime period<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 813 814<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 815140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Before 8162003, the Turkmen in Tuz Khurmatu district faced hostility from the Ba'ath 817regime for two reasons: first, because they are of Turkmen origin, and second, 818because <span class=GramE>the majority of</span> them are Shia. The district 819was also subject to Kurdish migration due to its location on the continuous 820Kurdish migration route to the west. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 821 822<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 823140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Within 824the framework of the racist policy that <span class=SpellE>characterised</span> 825the Ba'ath regime for more than three decades, Tuz Khurmatu district, like 826other Turkmen areas, was subjected to all forms of human rights violations. By
827hundreds of measures, <span class=SpellE>Arabisation</span> policies included 828the settlement of hundreds of thousands of Arabs in Turkmen areas, the 829displacement of Turkmen from their areas, forcing them to change their 830ethnicity, removing all Turkmen names for cities, villages, streets, schools, 831businesses and even family names. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 832 833<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 834140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Hundreds 835of thousands of dunums (a little more than 900 square <span class=SpellE>metres</span>) 836of Turkmen land were confiscated and living conditions in Turkmen areas were 837made difficult by obstructing government transactions and restricting the scope 838of private businesses. Thousands of Turkmen were arrested, and hundreds of them 839were executed on the pretext of belonging to political parties. This racist 840policy of the Ba'ath Party was accompanied by neglect and deterioration of 841urban services and infrastructure in the Turkmen areas.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 842 843<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 844140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 845the 1970s and 1980s, Arab <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> and 846alleyways began to appear within the city of Tuz Khurmatu. The al-Tin <span 847class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> and the al-Askari <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> 848were built for Arabs. Land was also granted to them in the Al-Asriya <span 849class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span>, where the government financed the 850construction of homes. Similarly, homes were built by Arab families in the Imam 851Ahmed <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 852 853<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 854140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 855for land confiscation, by Revolutionary Command Council Resolution No. 369, 856dated March 31, 1975, as part of the largest confiscation of Turkmen land in 857Kirkuk Governorate, 29,871 dunums of land were expropriated in the Tuz Khurmatu 858district, <span class=GramE>all of</span> whose owners were Turkmen from the 859district (see Appendix 1), as Tuz was one of the districts of Kirkuk 860Governorate. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 861 862<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 863140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>After 864the fall of the Ba'ath regime, the new Iraqi government established a 865governmental institution called the Property Claims Commission to resolve the 866issue of confiscated lands throughout Iraq. The number of lawsuits filed by the 867Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu before this commission reached 4,970 by 2014 to 2015, 868and not a single land was returned to its Turkmen owners (Unrepresented Nations 869and Peoples <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 2013: 7).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 870 871<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 872140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 873Ba'ath regime regularly accused of hundreds of Tuz Khurmatu's Turkmen of being 874either nationalists belonging to national political parties or Shi'a religious 875parties. In a campaign of arrests that took place between 1980 and 1982, 876hundreds of Turkmen were arrested for their alleged affiliation with Iraqi 877Shi'a parties. As many as 101 of them were executed, while many others were 878sentenced to various harsh sentences, including life imprisonment. Many 879disappeared after their arrest, and many Tuz Khurmatu residents left Iraq for 880fear of persecution and death (Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmen 1999).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 881 882<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 883140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>With 884the withdrawal of the Iraqi army from Kuwait in March 1991, <span class=GramE>local 885residents</span> took control of the administration in most Iraqi provinces. 886Ba'ath Party leaders were arrested, and their headquarters, as well as those of 887the Popular Army, security services, and police stations, were attacked, with 888many wounded and killed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 889 890<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 891140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>During 892this upheaval, Turkmen youth gathered in groups in the city of Tuz Khurmatu, 893particularly from the <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> of Mulla Safar, 894the Kuchuk Mosque area and the Tanki <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span>. 895They armed themselves and began writing and distributing leaflets to homes and 896shops, taking control of the intelligence and postal offices.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 897 898<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 899140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Contact 900was made with some Kurdish groups, and on the evening of March 11, 1991, most 901of the city's districts were seized, including the main police station, the 902security office, and later the Popular Army (<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الجيش 903الشعبي</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 904dir=LTR></span>) headquarters. Turkmen armed youth set up guard posts on the 905outskirts of the city and prevented Kurdish militants from attacking 906educational institutions. Thefts then spread to state institutions by Kurdish 907groups and sometimes by residents of the city itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 908 909<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 910140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 911city had been subjected to artillery and mortar shelling, and occasional aerial 912bombardment by the Ba'athist forces and paramilitary loyalists for more than a 913week since the uprising began. The city was then stormed. The Iraqi army and 914Arab tribes overcame the resistance of the city's residents, entered the city 915and suppressed the uprising after residents were threatened with chemical
916weapons attacks following a demonstration by warplanes across the city's skies. 917The city was also bombed before and during the assault, killing and wounding 918dozens of residents and damaging many homes. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 919 920<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 921140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>On 922the first day of the government regained control of the city, all residents 923were evacuated. When they returned to the city more than a week later, many 924found their homes or shops empty and their cars stolen, having been looted by 925the Popular Army and members of the Arab tribes. The army had arrested 926approximately 500 young Turkmen, most of whom were assaulted and imprisoned. 927Many armed Turkmen who resisted the army fled to <span class=SpellE>neighbouring</span> 928countries for fear of retribution.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 929 930<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 931140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>After 932the fall of the Ba'ath regime<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 933 934<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 935140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>This 936phase began with the overthrow of the Ba'ath regime on April 9, 2003, through 937US military intervention. The Coalition Provisional Authority was then formed, 938headed by Paul Bremer, who was directly linked to the US Secretary of Defense 939as the governor of Iraq. Immediately after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, all 940Iraqi state institutions being staffed by Ba'ath Party members were dissolved, 941including the civil administration, security forces, and army (Baker 2003: 4)<o:p></o:p></span></p> 942 943<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 944140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Within 945the framework of the strategic partnership between the United States and 946Turkey, the United States was confident of Turkish support for the overthrow of 947the Ba'ath regime in Iraq in 2003. However, the United States was disappointed 948when Turkey refused to participate and did not allow the use of Turkish 949territory. The United States then replaced Turkey with the Kurdish parties as 950its sole strategic partner in Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 951 952<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 953140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 954Kurdish parties and Peshmerga forces became the second largest force after 955those of the United States in administering Iraq and in rebuilding the Iraqi 956state and its new institutions, having received full support from the United 957States. The Kurdish parties came to dominate the mechanisms of governance in 958Iraq. The Kurdish Peshmerga fighters became the equivalent of the Iraqi army 959and took control of northern Iraq. Thus, all Turkmen and other minority areas 960in Iraq came under Kurdish control. The region remained under the absolute 961administrative, security, military, and economic control of the Kurdish parties 962for fourteen years, until 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 963 964<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 965140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>All 966non-Kurdish parties, including Arab, Turkmen, and Assyrian parties, were 967founded abroad, <span class=GramE>with the exception of</span> the Iraqi Dawa 968Party; all of those parties lacked experience in governing a state even on the 969local level or operating as a professional opposition. The Kurdish parties, 970however, had thirteen years of experience in governing their regions and had 971established their own security and military forces, represented by the 972Peshmerga and the <span class=SpellE>Asayish</span> (Kurdish security).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 973 974<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 975140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 976Kurds have long enjoyed excessive sympathy from the West, particularly because 977they were subjected to attacks from the states they fought, particularly in 978Iraq. This was reflected in the substantial financial, logistical, political, 979and media assistance provided to the Kurdish parties and Kurdish society, while 980ignoring other Iraqi communities, the largest of which were and are the 981Turkmen. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 982 983<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 984140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 985short, after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, the state's administrative, 986security and military institutions had collapsed and remained so for a 987considerable time, the rule of law was absent, chaos was <span class=GramE>rampant</span> 988and violence was prevalent throughout Iraq. Kurdish parties and the Peshmerga 989had come to dominate the Iraqi political scene. Under these trying and 990harrowing circumstances, the construction of a new Iraq began from scratch, 991including the drafting of a new constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 992 993<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 994140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>General 995situation<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 996 997<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 998140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>
998When 999the Ba'ath regime fell, the same things happened in Tuz Khurmatu as happened in 1000most of Iraq. In Tuz Khurmatu, particularly the Kurdish Peshmerga and Kurdish 1001security forces looted all government offices and emptied them of their 1002contents. They seized control of all government buildings, turning these into 1003headquarters for Kurdish political parties or the Peshmerga. Kurdish forces 1004arrested many Turkmen and expelled others from government offices, claiming 1005they were members of the Ba'ath Party and who had wronged some Kurds before the 1006occupation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1007 1008<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1009140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 1010northern Iraq, Arabs were <span class=SpellE>politicised</span> 1011nationalistically and well-<span class=SpellE>organised</span> partisanly and 1012being prepared to resist any force that would deprive them of the enormous 1013gains granted by the Ba'ath regime. They were also prepared to defend 1014themselves against any potential attack, especially by Peshmerga fighters, 1015given their role in the Ba'ath Party and the <span class=SpellE>Arabisation</span> 1016of Kurdish, Turkmen, and other minority areas.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1017 1018<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1019140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 1020for the Kurds, their parties and armed Peshmerga gained control of northern 1021Iraq, as well as much of the Iraqi political arena and the Iraqi government. 1022They have a strong desire to establish a Kurdish state in northern Iraqâand are 1023prepared to avenge the injustices they suffered at the hands of the Ba'ath 1024regime. They consider most of northern Iraq, especially the Turkmen regions and 1025areas with other minorities, to be historically Kurdish regions. <span 1026class=GramE>Thus</span> they include these among the disputed territories, registering 1027these in their constitution, and including these on their maps.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1028 1029<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1030140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1031Turkmen and other Iraqi minorities, most of whose territories <span 1032class=GramE>are located in</span> northern Iraq, were eager to redress the 1033injustices they suffered at the hands of the Ba'ath regime and to obtain their 1034cultural and national rights. They feared the control of the Kurdish parties 1035and the co-optation of their regions. The slightest administrative, political, 1036economic and security measures taken against them or with disadvantageous 1037effects for them became a source of resentment among Sunnis, Turkmen and other 1038minorities toward the state led by Shia and Kurdish parties. Tuz Khurmatu was 1039one of the areas that met <span class=GramE>all of</span> the afore-mentioned 1040conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1041 1042<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1043140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1044administration<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 1045 1046<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1047140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1048Ba'ath regime subjected Tuz Khurmatu district to continuous oppression and 1049repression. The district housed the headquarters of political parties and the 1050armed popular army, as well as police and intelligence departments, where Arab 1051Ba'athists constituted the majority. The people of Tuz Khurmatu lived in 1052anxiety and suspicion under Ba'ath administration, lacking even the most basic 1053weapons to protect themselves in emergency situations. As was the case 1054throughout Iraq, all state institutions in Tuz Khurmatu were run by Ba'athist 1055cadres with high party ranks. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1056 1057<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1058140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1059decision of making the De-Baathification Commission, issued by the US civ
1059il 1060administrator and then-President of Iraq, Paul Bremer, at the insistence of 1061Iraqi political parties, particularly the Shi'ite ones, just days after the 1062fall of the Ba'ath regime on April 16, which took effect on May 16, 2003, 1063played a major role in the disintegration of the Iraqi state. Therefore, it was 1064necessary to form new administrative cadres for the state across all its 1065institutions. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1066 1067<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1068140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Tuz 1069Khurmatu fell to Peshmerga forces led by American soldiers in April 2003. A few 1070days later, a Kurd was appointed as Tuz Khurmatu's new mayor. Shortly 1071thereafter, American officers met with figures from the district's Turkmen, 1072Kurdish and Arab communities, informing them that a new council would be formed 1073to administer the district, consisting of nine members, three from each 1074community. The Kurd representatives requested four, one more than the other 1075communities, a request rejected by the Turkmen and Arab representatives. At the 1076same time, the Arabs generally were reluctant to participate in the process. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1077 1078<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1079140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Ultimately, 1080it was agreed that the council would have twenty-one members, seven from each 1081community, despite the Turkmen having a greater claim as the majority in the 1082district and the region being known for its Turkmen identity. This was <span 1083class=GramE>similar to</span> many Turkmen-majority areas and other regions in 1084northern Iraq where the rights of the Turkmen majority were deliberately 1085downplayed and ignored. This situation was repeated in the 2005 provincial 1086council elections. Since all Iraqi general and local elections in the Turkmen 1087regions were held under the absolute control of the Kurdish parties and the 1088Peshmerga, and in the absence of security stability, the Kurds achieved results 1089far superior to their actual presence in all areas of northern Iraq (see Table 10901 below).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1091 1092<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1093140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>American 1094officers supervised the formation of the new council in the district. It was 1095agreed that the council presidency would be assigned to a Turkmen. The Turkmen 1096Front intervened and imposed its own <span class=GramE>particular candidate</span> 1097for the presidency. However, the Kurds and Arabs rejected this Turkmen 1098candidate, claiming that he was an active member of the Ba'ath Party, and 1099demanded another candidate. But the Turkmen Front did not withdraw its 1100candidate, and it was decided to hold elections for the council presidency. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1101 1102<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1103140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1104Kurds and Arabs agreed, as some of the council members were Arabs chosen from 1105among those close to the Kurds. They elected an Arab to the presidency, and an 1106American representative attended council meetings. A Kurd from outside the 1107police force was appointed director of the judicial police, and the Kurds took 1108control of all state institutions in Tuz Khurmatu. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1109 1110<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1111140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Although 1112the directors of some departments were Turkmen, they were under the control of 1113the Kurdish administration. Later, when it was necessary to appoint people to 1114sovereign positions in the judiciary, the Judicial Council would send three 1115names, one from each ethnic group to the relevant ministry, and in most cases, 1116the Kurdish name was approved. This administrative structure remained largely 1117unchanged until the Iraqi army took control of the district in 2017 1118(Derzsi-Horvath 2017; Note 1).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1119 1120<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1121140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>So 1122immediately after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, the Kurdish parties and the 1123Peshmerga appointed large numbers of Kurds from outside the city to government 1124offices, especially in the health and education directorates, and they became 1125the overwhelming majority in the police department. The Kurdish Security 1126Directorate (<span class=SpellE>Asayish</span>) formed the security apparatus 1127consisting almost exclusively of Kurds, and the Peshmerga became the army of 1128the district.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1129 1130<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1131140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 1132 1133<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1134140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Table 11351<span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Various estimates of the Kurdish 1136population in various areas along the 1137Oblique Turkmen Line after the fall of the Ba'ath regime *<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1138 1139<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1140140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Table 1141 <span class="editlinktip hasTip" title="" > 1142 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/table-tuz-1.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 1143 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/table-tuz-1.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="400pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 1144 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 1145 1146<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1147 1148<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1149140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>* 1150Table 1 intends to illustrate the increase in the number of Kurdish members in 1151municipal councils in those areas relative to the size of the Kurdish 1152population.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1153 1154<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1155140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(†) 1156Percentage of Kurds in district and subdistrict councils according to 1157appointments under the supervision of the American military, Kurdish political 1158parties, and Kurdish Peshmerga that took place in 2003, and in provincial 1159councils according to the elections that took place in January 2005. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1160 1161<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1162140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(‡) 1163Population of Kirkuk governorate during fall of the Ba'ath regime in 2003 1164(International Crisis Group 2006: 2). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1165 1166<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1167140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(*) 1168There are no reliable statistics or estimates.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1169 1170<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1171140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1172 1173<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1174140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Military 1175and security forces in the district from 2003 to 2017<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 1176 1177<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1178140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Kurdish 1179Peshmerga<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 1180 1181<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1182140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From 1183the first day after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, Kurdish parties controlled 1184the vast majority of northern Iraq and large parts of Diyala and
1184Salah al-Din 1185provinces (Kane 2011: 9, 14-15). The Peshmerga were the sole military force in 1186these vast territories, and the police and security services were subordinate 1187to the Kurdish parties. There were three Peshmerga brigades in the Tuz Khurmatu 1188district, and the Kurdish parties controlled the security and police services.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1189 1190<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1191140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>With 1192the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) (<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الدولة 1193الإسلامية في العراق 1194والشام</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 1195dir=LTR></span>) occupation of eastern Tuz Khurmatu in 2014, the Kurdistan 1196regional government deployed an additional fourth brigade of Peshmerga fighters 1197to Tuz Khurmatu, claiming to bolster security in the area. However, just as the 1198other three Peshmerga brigades deployed in the area did not provide protection 1199for the Turkmen, the deployment of the fourth brigade did not.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1200 1201<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1202140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Federal 1203police<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 1204 1205<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1206140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 1207attacks on Turkmen in the region increased by ISIS, with bombings sometimes 1208reaching as many as 24 per day, the Iraqi government deployed a federal police 1209(<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الشرطة الاتحادية</span><span 1210dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>) regiment in 2011 despite opposition and 1211threats from Kurdish parties and the Peshmerga. The federal police were 1212stationed in the Silo area outside the city, but they were subjected to 1213frequent harassment by the Peshmerga. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1214 1215<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1216140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1217presence of the federal police did not mitigate attacks on the Turkmen; rather, 1218it increased the bombings. When ISIS took control of the western part of the 1219district, Peshmerga forces attacked the Federal Police headquarters, expelling 1220them from the district and seizing their vehicles and weapons, including tanks. 1221During the same period, the Peshmerga also expelled Baghdad-backed forces in 1222Kirkuk governorate. Under the control of the security apparatuses affiliated 1223with the Kurdish parties and the Kurdish Security Service (<span class=SpellE>Asayish</span>-<span 1224lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>اسايش</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 1225dir=LTR></span>), the Kurds rejected the Turkmen parties' persistent requests 1226and strenuous efforts to establish armed Turkmen factions to protect themselves 1227and their areas.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1228 1229<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1230140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Iraqi 1231and Turkmen Shi'a armed factions<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1232 1233<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1234140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1235Kurds continued to refuse the entry of the Iraqi army and any other armed 1236faction into Tuz Khurmatu, despite the genocide being continued committed 1237against the Turkmen by ISIS. The fatwa issued by the Shia religious authority, 1238Ali al-Sistani, in Najaf in mid-2014 calling for the formation of a popular 1239army made the Kurds accept formation of Turkmen Popular Army factions. The 1240siege of <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> by ISIS, which became an 1241international issue, forced the Kurdish parties to accept the entry of Shiite 1242factions into Tuz Khurmatu. In June 2014, <span class=SpellE>Asaib</span> Ahl 1243al-Haq, Hezbollah, the Badr <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span>, and Saraya 1244al-Salam entered the district.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1245 1246<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1247140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1248new Iraqi army<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 1249 1250<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1251140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1252Iraqi armed and security forces were largely <span class=SpellE>politicised</span> 1253and partisan under the Ba'athist state, and completely disintegrated
1253with the 1254fall of the regime, leaving the entire Iraqi society in a state of complete 1255insecurity amidst political, sectarian and ethnic instability. Rebuilding the 1256Iraqi army and security services took many years, and these still suffer from a 1257lack of professionalism and administrative and military problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1258 1259<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1260140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 1261it is mentioned elsewhere, with the advent of the new era, and for years, Kurds 1262played a major role in establishing and filling positions in the new military 1263institutions. For example, starting with assuming the positions of Chief of 1264Staff of the Army and Commander of the Air Force, they also had a significant 1265presence in the new military divisions formed in Mosul, where <span 1266class=GramE>a large number of</span> unqualified Kurds were appointed as 1267soldiers and commanders, most of whom were Peshmerga (Mahdi 2013). After nearly 126814 years, the Iraqi army wrested control of all areas of northern Iraq from the 1269Kurdish parties and the Peshmerga, <span class=GramE>with the exception of</span> 1270the three Kurdish provinces, in October 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1271 1272<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1273140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 1274 1275<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1276140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Sectarian 1277and nationalist violence (2003-2017)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 1278 1279<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1280140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>After 1281the fall of the Ba'ath regime, all conditions were ripe for sectarian and 1282nationalist violence. The state collapsed administratively, security-wise, and 1283militarily, primarily due to the United States' mismanagement of the overthrow 1284of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and the subsequent administration of Iraq, the 1285rule of law disappeared, and <span class=SpellE>marginalised</span> Islamist 1286Shiite and Kurdish parties assumed leadership of the government and state. The 1287Ba'athists were numerous and intellectually and militarily armed. They began 1288exploiting nationalist and sectarian sentiments immediately after the fall, 1289having inflamed them to the maximum extent during their rule. Almost all 1290Turkmen areas, including Tuz Khurmatu, had a mixed sectarian and ethnic 1291character.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1292 1293<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1294140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Sectarian 1295violence began immediately after the fall of the regime. In the first months 1296after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, two incidents in the cities of Tuz 1297Khurmatu and Kirkuk confirmed Turkmen suspicions that the Kurdish parties 1298intended to control and contain their areas and suppress any attempts to oppose 1299the dominance of the Kurdish parties and the Peshmerga in their areas. These 1300incidents also added momentum to the sectarian and ethnic conflict. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1301 1302<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1303140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>On 1304August 20, 2003, Kurdish Peshmerga gunmen, who controlled the district, blew up 1305the Mursi Ali shrine, a holy site for Shiite Turkmen in Tuz Khurmatu (Mufti 13062017). The next day, groups of Turkmen held a peaceful demonstration in the 1307city <span class=SpellE>centre</span>, but Peshmerga forces attacked the 1308demonstration and opened fire, killing five Turkmen and wounding many others. 1309The following day, other peaceful demonstrations took place in Kirkuk in 1310support of the Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu. Peshmerga forces also attacked them, killing 1311some Turkmen demonstrators and wounding many others. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1312 1313<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1314140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>These 1315two incidents in Tuz Khurmatu and Kirkuk were among the first terrorist 1316bombings against religious shrines and killings of peaceful protestors, 1317igniting sectarian and ethnic strife in Iraq. Sectarian violence quickly spread 1318throughout Iraq, in the absence of law and order and state institutions. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1319 1320<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1321140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Then 1322came the bombing of the two major Shia shrines in Samarra on February 22, 2006. 1323Violence in Iraq escalated even further. All Turkmen areas, especially the Shia 1324Turkmen areas south of Kirkuk, which also includes the Tuz Khurmatu district, 1325were subjected to the largest and most violent explosions in Iraq. The Kurdish 1326Peshmerga forces were the only force protecting the region, dominating and 1327controlling it completely. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1328 1329<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1330140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Violence 1331rapidly increased in the Tuz Khurmatu district; the number of explosions was 1332estimated at several per month during the first post-Ba'athist years, including 1333massive explosions in the village of Yengija and the district's city of <span 1334class=SpellE>Amerli</span>. This later increased to several explosions per 1335week. By the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, explosions 1336had become daily, sometimes multiple times a day. They increased dramatically 1337with the increase in ISIS activity in the western part of the district and, at 1338the same time. By the beginning of the second decade, the number of daily 1339explosions sometimes reached dozens. The explosions were accompanied by 1340assassinations and kidnappings of Turkmen (see Appendix 3).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1341 1342<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1343140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1344psychological state of the district's Turkmen was in shambles. During one of 1345the sit-ins held by the people of Tuz Khurmatu under the title "Tuz Khurmatu is 1346calling... Is there a helper to help us?" in front of one of the largest 1347religious shrines in the city of Karbala. In an attempt to draw the attention 1348of Shiite religious authorities to their tragedy, one of the sit-in <span 1349class=SpellE>organisers</span> said: "We are holding a sit-in today next to 1350Imam Hussein so that the world may know the extent of our suffering and concerns 1351that have been hidden from public opinion and ignored even by those closest to 1352us for unknown reasons" (<span class=SpellE>Ruwaih</span> 2013).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1353 1354<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1355140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Appendix 1356II shown further below contains detailed information on some of the hundreds of 1357terrorist attacks targeting Turkmen areas in Tuz Khurmatu district. Appendix 1358III includes the names of <span class=GramE>a large number of</span> Turkmen 1359who were killed, assassinated, or kidnapped in Tuz Khurmatu between 2003 and 13602009 alone, a number that doubled several times between 2010 and 2014. Many of 1361the assassinations occurred in front of their homes or shops, and most of the 1362kidnappings took place outside the city while residents were traveling. Some 1363were aimed at extorting large ransoms from the kidnapped person's family. For 1364example, Turkmen in Kirkuk governorate paid approximately $50 million to secure 1365their kidnappers' release (SOITM Foundation 2019: 86; Mufti 2015).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1366 1367<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1368140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1369Turkmen Rescue Foundation estimated the losses of the Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu 1370between 2003 and 2014 at approximately 600 dead, mostly men, 3,600 injured, 1371including women and children, 160 kidnapped and 1,500 families displaced from 1372the district. The number of homes and shops demolished or closed reached 1,200 1373homes and 200 shops (Note 2). The 2018 report of the Iraqi High Commission for 1374Human Rights estimated the number of Turkmen disabled in the district <span 1375class=GramE>as a result of</span> bombings at approximately 1,670 people (Iraqi 1376High Commission for Human Rights 2018: 9). An official from the Turkmen Front 1377office in Tuz Khurmatu estimated the number of families displaced from the 1378district to safe areas in 2013 alone at 500, saying "There is no worse place in 1379the world for Turkmens than Tuz" (Zurutuza 2014).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1380 1381<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1382140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>All
1383areas of Tuz Khurmatu district suffered from massive bombings, indicating the 1384systematic targeting of Turkmen areas. The following incidents concern some of 1385the major bombings:<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1386 1387<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1388140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1389style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The Great Mosque explosion in Tuz 1390Khurmatu 2005<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1391 1392<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1393140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1394explosion of the Great Mosque in Tuz in September 2005 was one of the major 1395terrorist attacks at the time, killing at least eleven people and wounding 1396twenty-five others (Al-Jazeera 2005). The Euphrates News Agency put the death 1397toll in the Great Mosque explosion at 24 dead and 56 wounded, with the mosque <span 1398class=GramE>completely destroyed</span> (<span class=SpellE>Buratha</span> News 1399Agency 2013).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1400 1401<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1402140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1403style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The assault on the village of Yengija in 14042006<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1405 1406<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1407140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1408village of Yengija, located 10 to 15 <span class=SpellE>kilometres</span> 1409southwest of Tuz Khurmatu, was subjected to constant harassment by the Iraqi 1410National Guard at the time, which was largely composed of Peshmerga forces. On 1411the evening of March 10, 2006, the National Guard surrounded the village and 1412shelled it indiscriminately with rifles and mortars. By midnight, the village 1413was stormed. Peshmerga forces ordered people via mosque loudspeakers to remain 1414in their homes or they would be shot if they left. The operation lasted 1415approximately 24 hours. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1416 1417<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1418140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>During 1419the indiscriminate shooting of the village, two persons (aged 32 and 26) were 1420killed and nineteen people were injured. The village's water and electricity 1421sources were the first to be attacked. Almost <span class=GramE>all of</span> 1422the water tanks on the roofs of houses were shot at and punctured. Generators, 1423electricity cables, and poles were destroyed. Two houses were severely damaged, 1424and six others were partially destroyed. Private cars, motorcycles, and 1425tractors belonging to villagers were shot at in front of houses (SOITM 2006).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1426 1427<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1428140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1429style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Aksu Café bombing in 2006<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1430 1431<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1432140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>On 1433June 16, 2006, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device inside the Aksu 1434Café in the district, killing 25 people, wounding 34 and <span class=GramE>completely 1435destroying</span> the café (<span class=SpellE>Buratha</span> News Agency 14362013).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1437 1438<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1439140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1440style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span><span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> bombing 1441in 2007<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1442 1443<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1444140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 1445one of the largest terrorist attacks in Iraq's history since 2003, a truck bomb 1446exploded in a popular Bazar in the <span class=SpellE>centre</span> of <span 1447class=SpellE>Amerli</span> sub-district, which was then part of Tuz Khurmatu 1448(now <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> district), on July 7, 2007, killing 1449approximately 160 people and wounding 240 others (al-Jarida 2007: 18).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1450 1451<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1452140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1453style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Taza Khurmatu bombing in 2009<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1454 1455<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1456140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Taza 1457Khurmatu is a large Shiite Turkmen village located outside Tuz Khurmatu 1458district, located between it and the city of Kirkuk. It was also under the 1459'protection' of the Kurdish Peshmerga. On June 20, 2009, a truck bomb exploded, 1460killing 73 people and wounding 200, including women and children. It also
1461destroyed approximately 30 homes (al-Ansary 2009).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1462 1463<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1464140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1465style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span><span class=SpellE>Husseiniyat</span> 1466Sayyid al-Shuhada bombing in 2013<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1467 1468<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1469140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>On 1470January 23, 2013, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated an 1471explosive device inside the Sayyid al-Shuhada <span class=SpellE>Husseiniyat</span> 1472(Mosque) itself, killing 42 people and wounding 45 others.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1473 1474<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1475140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 1476 1477<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1478140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1479period of the Turkmen and Iraqi Shi'a armed factions (2014-2017)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 1480 1481<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1482140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1483Turkmen remained disarmed and exposed to daily terror until 2014. In the middle 1484of that year, the Islamic State (ISIS) swept through all the villages and the 1485Sulayman Bek district, south of Tuz Khurmatu. However, it was unable to enter 1486the city of Tuz Khurmatu, besieging <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> city on 1487June 11, 2014. After fierce and unequal resistance to the attacking force, 1488which possessed various transport vehicles and tanks, the residents of Shi'ite 1489villages, such as Bir <span class=SpellE>Awchili</span>, Qara Naz, and <span 1490class=SpellE>Chardaghli</span>, took refuge in the city of Tuz, and some of 1491them in the city of Kirkuk (<span class=SpellE>Hauslohner</span> 2014); at 1492least twenty-six people were killed, and ISIS forces entered the villages and 1493inflicted great destruction on them.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1494 1495<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1496140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Despite 1497this, the Kurds continued to refuse to allow the Iraqi army or any other armed 1498group to enter the district to help fight ISIS and protect the Turkmen, until 1499al-Sistani issued a fatwa <span class=SpellE>authorising</span> the formation 1500of the Popular <span class=SpellE>Mobilisation</span> Forces (PMF) (<span 1501lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>قوات الحشد 1502الشعبي</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 1503dir=LTR></span>) on June 13, 2014. This time, the Kurdish parties and Peshmerga 1504were unable to prevent the Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu from forming armed groups to 1505defend themselves and their region.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1506 1507<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1508140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1509siege of <span class=SpellE>Amerli</span> became an international issue, and 1510international public opinion became more concerned with saving it from falling 1511into the hands of ISIS in the region. At that point, the Kurdish forces were 1512unable to prevent the entry of armed Shi'a factions into the Tuz Khurmatu 1513district. In mid-June 2014, armed factions from <span class=SpellE>Asaib</span> 1514Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous), Hezbollah (Party of God), Badr <span 1515class=SpellE>organisation</span>, and Saraya al-Salam (Peace Companies) entered 1516the district via the eastern <span class=SpellE>Kifri</span> district, where 1517ISIS militants were targeting the main road between Tuz Khurmatu and Baghdad.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1518 1519<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1520140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Shi'a 1521party factions arriving in Tuz Khurmatu were able to lift the siege of <span 1522class=SpellE>Amerli</span>, leading to the rapid collapse of ISIS. The western 1523part of the district and its villages were liberated within a few weeks. 1524Turkmen factions, formed in Tuz district based on the fatwa of al-Sistani, 1525joined the Shi'a party factions in the fight against ISIS. The security 1526situation required the Turkmen and Shia factions to remain in the district.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1527 1528<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1529140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>ISIS's 1530brutal control of many of the district's villages, and its subsequent defeat, 1531and the sectarian animosity it instigated, had extremely painful consequences 1532for the district. Many people were killed and wounded, and many homes and 1533shops, sometimes entire alleys, were destroyed. The villages had been 1534completely emptied of their Shi'ites when ISIS arrived, and then of their 1535Sunnis when they were liberated by Shi'ite factions. Many villages remained 1536empty for months and years, and <span class=GramE>a large number of</span> 1537residents have not returned to their villages to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1538 1539<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1540140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Under 1541the new reality, the security situation in the district has improved, and
1542attacks on Turkmen declined significantly, though some bombings still occurred:<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1543 1544<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1545140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1546style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>On August 29, 2014, ISIS shelled the 1547military <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> in Tuz Khurmatu, killing five 1548people and wounding twenty-five others, including five women and six children.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1549 1550<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1551140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1552style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>On July 25, 2015, at least twelve people 1553were killed when two suicide bombers attacked a crowded swimming pool in Tuz 1554Khurmatu.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1555 1556<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1557140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1558style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>On October 22, 2015, a car bomb exploded 1559outside a Shiite Mosque in the city, killing five people and wounding 40 1560others.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1561 1562<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1563140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1564style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>On December 12, 2017, a mortar attack on 1565the city <span class=SpellE>centre</span> killed civilians in central Tuz 1566Khurmatu.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1567 1568<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1569140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1570style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>On November 21, 2017, at least 23 people 1571were killed and 60 others wounded in a suicide bombing in the city.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1572 1573<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1574140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Resentment 1575and discontent among the Kurdish parties and the Peshmerga over the presence of 1576Shiite and Turkmen armed factions in the district became a source of ongoing 1577tension, leading to three major clashes between the Peshmerga and Turkmen armed 1578factions between 2014 and 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1579 1580<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1581140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1582first major clash occurred on October 16, 2015, when Kurdish Peshmerga forces 1583opened fire on a group of Turkmen belonging to the armed factions from the 1584village of <span class=SpellE>Chardaghli</span> as they passed through a 1585checkpoint at one of the city's entrances, killing three-five Turkmen. In 1586response, armed Turkmen attacked a Peshmerga detachment, killing several of 1587them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1588 1589<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1590140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Clashes 1591spread throughout Tuz Khurmatu, with Kurdish peshmergas burning five to ten 1592Turkmen homes in the Aksu <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span>, and Turkmens 1593burning Kurdish shops in several Turkmen <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span>. 1594Peshmerga forces then burned approximately thirty Turkmen homes in the al-Barid 1595<span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span>. <span class=GramE>A number of</span> 1596armed Kurdish stormed the home of Turkmen writer and politician Cevdet <span 1597class=SpellE>Kadioglu</span> and forcibly took him away in front of his family. 1598His fate remains unknown to this day. The religious authority and Shiite parties 1599then intervened, calming the clashes, which had lasted for two days (<span 1600class=SpellE>Imamli</span> 2015).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1601 1602<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1603140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1604second major clash occurred <span class=GramE>as a result of</span> the 1605Peshmerga's continued harassment of citizens in Turkmen <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span>, 1606particularly by a well-known gang in the city led by a Kurd named Goran, who 1607extorted money from the city's wealthy Turkmen. At a time when the Kurdish 1608political parties and security forces were still firmly established in the city 1609<span class=SpellE>centre</span>, in the heart of the Turkmen areas, the 1610clashes erupted. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1611 1612<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1613140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>On 1614November 15, 2016, the Peshmerga shelled the headquarters of the Turkmen armed 1615factions, killing eight people. On the same day, the Peshmerga shelled the 1616Shiite endowment with tanks, prompting similar responses from the Turkmen 1617factions. The clashes continued for a day and a half, after which <span 1618class=GramE>some kind of a</span> reconciliation was reached. However, the 1619situation remained tense between the two sides, marred by minor incidents until 1620coming of the Iraqi army in October 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1621 1622<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1623140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1624third major clash between Turkmen factions and Peshmerga occurred when the 1625Iraqi army entered the city on October 17, 2017. Peshmerga, police, and Kurdish 1626security forces confronted the Iraqi army and attacked Turkmen <span 1627class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> at the same time. According to some 1628witnesses, hundreds of shells fell on Turkmen areas, killing at least five 1629Turkmen and wounding about thirty others. Dozens of Turkmen homes were also 1630burned. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1631 1632<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1633140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Shi'ite
1634armed factions cooperated with the Iraqi army to secure the central 1635government's control of the district, and the Turkmen burned some Kurdish 1636homes, in addition to about thirty homes belonging to the Goran gang. As it is 1637mentioned elsewhere in this article, all Kurds left the district after entering 1638the Iraqi army in it, and the Kurdish <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> 1639were emptied. The Iraqi army captured about twenty Peshmerga and handed them 1640over to Kurdish parties. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1641 1642<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1643140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 1644October 2017, the Iraqi army entered <span class=GramE>all of</span> northern 1645Iraq and expelled the Kurdish parties and Peshmerga from them, with the 1646exception of the three governorates within the Kurdish region.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1647 1648<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1649140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 1650 1651<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1652140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1653role of Kurdish parties in the tragedy of the Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 1654 1655<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1656140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Many 1657Turkmen residents, intellectuals, and politicians in Tuz Khurmatu believe that 1658the Kurdish administration played a direct role in this dark period their 1659district experienced between 2003 and 2017. In addition to turning a blind eye 1660to attacks by Sunni extremists and ISIS against Turkmen, there is reasonable 1661speculation that Peshmerga and Kurdish security forces played a direct role in 1662the attacks, assassinations and kidnappings targeting Turkmen in Tuz Khurmatu. 1663As for the plausible reasons for these speculations:<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1664 1665<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1666140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1667style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The Kurds had exclusive control over the 1668district, particularly the city of Tuz Khurmatu, administratively, militarily, 1669and security-wise. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1670 1671<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1672140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1673style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Three Peshmerga brigades controlled all 1674entrances to the city then the fourth came in 2014. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1675 1676<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1677140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1678style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The entire security apparatus and police 1679forces in the district were Kurdish and under Kurdish administration.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1680 1681<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1682140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1683style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>These Kurdish forces surrounded the city 1684from all sides, set up checkpoints and monitored all the entrances and exits of 1685the city.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1686 1687<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1688140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1689style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>All explosions occurred in the Turkmen <span 1690class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> of the city only.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1691 1692<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1693140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1694style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The Kurdish politicians and 1695intellectuals have an unbridled desire to establish a Kurdish state in northern 1696Iraq at any cost.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1697 1698<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1699140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1700style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Kurdish politicians and writers consider 1701most of northern Iraq, including all Turkmen areas, to be historically Kurdish 1702regions and part of their historic homeland, Kurdistan (Kane 2011: 13-14). 1703Kurdish schools have taught this view for many years, even decades now,
1704convincing the Kurdish people of this myth. Western reports, articles and books 1705played an important role in this process. Thus, Kurdish intellectuals and the 1706Kurdish people have grown resentful that Arabs and Turkmen have occupied and 1707still live in their historic homeland.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1708 1709<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1710140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1711style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Kurdish parties have succeeded in 1712casting doubt on the identity of the Turkmen regions and many other areas in 1713northern Iraq by including them among the disputed territories in the Iraqi 1714constitution, enshrining them in the constitution of so-called Kurdistan, and 1715including them on their own official maps.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1716 1717<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1718140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1719style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The Kurdish authorities rejected all 1720attempts by Turkmen politicians and parties to involve the Turkmen at 1721checkpoints at the city's entrances and exits. As previously mentioned, they 1722refused formation of armed Turkmen factions to protect the Turkmen, and they 1723also refused the entry of any Iraqi forces into the district to protect them.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1724 1725<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1726140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 1727style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>All Kurds, including the Peshmerga and 1728security forces, Kurdish police, all Kurdish employees, and all Kurdish 1729families, left when the Iraqi army entered the city, and all Kurdish <span 1730class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> became empty, fearing reprisals.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1731 1732<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1733140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>True, 1734all these reasons at this stage are speculations, however plausible and 1735credible. These do not (yet) constitute definite proofs that <span class=GramE>particular 1736Kurdish</span> individuals, units and institutions directly planned, ordered, 1737executed and participated in all these violent incidents against the Turkmen in 1738Tuz Khurmatu and other Turkmen areas, particularly in Kirkuk Governorate. These 1739reasons offer circumstantial evidence at best. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1740 1741<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1742140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Therefore,
1743additional research needs to be done to identifyâand prosecute at local, 1744national or international courtsâthose truly responsible for these crimes 1745against the Turkmen, irrespective of their Kurdish or any other identity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1746 1747<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1748140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 1749 1750<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1751140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Western 1752sources and pro-Kurdish bias <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 1753 1754<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1755140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>There 1756are several reasons for the West's embrace of the Kurdish cause. These include 1757the West's search for strategic partners in a sensitive region like the Middle 1758East, the Kurds' openness to the West, their status as one of the world's 1759largest ethnic groups without their own (ethno-) nation state, and they were 1760subjected to fierce attacks from the countries in which they revolted and 1761rebelled against the state. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1762 1763<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1764140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1765Kurds' association with the ancient peoples of the Zagros region, their robust 1766nature, the beauty of their lands, and the charm of their terrain, which 1767includes towering mountains and rugged valleys, have attracted many Western <span 1768class=SpellE>travellers</span> over the centuries, who have published their 1769fascinating stories about the Kurdish ethnicity. This has created a bright and 1770dazzling aura around the Kurds in the West, leading to increased media coverage 1771of the Kurds in Western literature and studies. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1772 1773<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1774140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Decades 1775of Ba'ath rule followed, fostering the development of the Kurdish movement and 1776exposing the Kurds to repression and bloody events. This situation has led to 1777increased interest in the Kurdish issue by Western strategic <span 1778class=SpellE>centres</span>, and numerous reports, articles and studies have 1779been published on the Kurds, their history, geography, suffering, and cause. 1780Because Iraq was not open to field research, most of these publications 1781interpreted, and sometimes distorted, facts to <span class=SpellE>favour</span> 1782the Kurds. In other words, Western interpretations of the region's events, 1783politics, history, and geography were influenced by their focus on the Kurdish 1784issue at the expense of other Iraqi communities, especially the Turkmen, who 1785constitute a vast geographic area and a significant proportion of the 1786population.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1787 1788<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1789140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1790<span class=SpellE>prioritisation</span> of national interests in Western 1791foreign policies, often at the expense of values of justice and human rights 1792established by Western societies, naturally reinforces the conspiracy theory 1793prevalent in non-democratic societies about the treatment and intentions of 1794Western states toward their societies and countries. This is manifested in 1795questioning the intentions and <span class=SpellE>behaviour</span> of all 1796Western governmental and non-governmental institutions in those countries. One 1797reason for this is that state control over all areas of administration and much 1798of social life is normal in non-democratic cultures.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1799 1800<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1801140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>This 1802phenomenon is <span class=GramE>clearly evident</span> in the West's handling 1803of the Kurdish issue. <span class=GramE>The majority of</span> peoples 1804suffering from the Kurdish problem, such as Iraqis, Turks and Syrians, believe 1805that Western countries, with all their institutions, are biased toward the 1806Kurds and support them in achieving national strategic gains. These peoples 1807believe that the news, reports and research published by Western media outlets, 1808civil society <span class=SpellE>organisations</span>, and universities are 1809deliberately prepared according to this strategy and represent a Western 1810positive bias in <span class=SpellE>
1810favour</span> of the Kurds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1811 1812<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1813140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Addressing 1814these unconstructive perceptions in non-democratic cultures is essential to 1815improving their perceptions of the democratic system and human rights 1816principles. This will undoubtedly contribute to positive interaction between 1817these societies and Western culture and their countries eventually.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1818 1819<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1820140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Regarding 1821the relevance of this phenomenon to the subject of this study, it is clear that 1822the thousands of reports and studies published by Western media, human rights <span 1823class=SpellE>organisations</span>, and universities on the subject of the study 1824did not reflect even a small part of the reality of the tragedies suffered by 1825the Turkmen in Tuz Khurmatu and Kirkuk too at the hands of Kurdish parties and 1826Peshmergas over the fourteen years covered by this study. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1827 1828<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1829140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Furthermore, 1830Western communities have been preoccupied with the Kurdish issue for nearly a 1831century, which has been reflected in their policies and treatment in <span 1832class=SpellE>favour</span> of the Kurds, despite the presence of other major 1833communities in Iraq that, like the Kurds, were subjected to the most horrific 1834human rights violations under the Ba'ath regime. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1835 1836<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1837140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Nor 1838did Western sources ever address the inability of the Peshmerga militias as an 1839unprofessional military force, especially in such circumstances when the 1840central state and all its institutions were absent, given that the Iraqi 1841government had declared its inability to protect the Turkmen for most of the 1842period covered by this study (Minority Rights Group International 2014: 6, 14). 1843<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1844 1845<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1846140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Western 1847studies have not demonstrated the Kurdish parties' unbridled desire to 1848establish a Kurdish state and the permissibility of using all the available 1849means to achieve this. In the photo shown further below (Photo 1), published on 1850a German news website in September 2014, Kurdish Peshmerga forces are shelling 1851the large Turkmen village of <span class=SpellE>Bastamli</span> from an 1852isolated angle, claiming that ISIS is there. Under the prevailing conditions in 1853the region at the time, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, the only armed force in 1854the district, could not be absolved of the daily artillery shelling that 1855targeted Tuz Khurmatu and dozens of Turkmen villages in the district for years 1856(Bickel 2014).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1857 1858<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1859140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>It 1860is worth noting that the Kurdish parties and Peshmerga forces were <span 1861class=SpellE>Kurdifying</span> Tuz Khurmatu and all areas of northern Iraq, 1862especially those belonging to minorities, without the Iraqi government and 1863coalition forces taking any action to prevent this. A report of the Middle East 1864Centre of London School of Economics and Political Science mentioned the 1865followings "The Kurds, who took advantage of US backing and occupied the 1866buildings of the former Iraqi regime. They held the office of the mayor and 1867other key positions and sought to administratively align the city with Kirkuk 1868over and above Tikrit. Ultimately, they filled the political and governmental 1869vacuum in the district, leaving the large Turkmen and Arab communities of Tuz 1870Khurmatu mostly powerless ⦠When the Turkmen and Arabs began to complain about 1871the '<span class=SpellE>Kurdification</span>' of Tuz Khurmatu in 2004 and 2005, 1872US forces and administrators took limited measures to balance out the local 1873distribution of power" (Skelton 2019: 17).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1874 1875<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1876140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Regarding 1877the <span class=SpellE>Kurdification</span> of the Turkmen regions, a report of 1878the international Crisis group mentioned the following: "Unwilling, for now, to 1879cross its most reliable Iraqi allies, Washington has largely stood silent in 1880the face of Kirkuk's progressive <span class=SpellE>Kurdification</span>; to 1881lessen tensions created by the flood of displaced Kurds coming to the town, it 1882also has launched wide-scale countryside rehabilitation. Moreover, it provides 1883technical support and indirect funding to the Iraq Property Claims Commission. 1884When accused of aiding Kirkuk's <span class=SpellE>Kurdification</span>, 1885officials reportedly replied that other communities were free to bring their 1886people into the town" (International Crisis Group 2006: 2).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1887 1888<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1889140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>If 1890we take the numbers of Western publications and sources about the Kurdish issue 1891in Iraq, we find that these are hundreds of times greater than the numbers 1892published about other Iraqi minorities, especially the Turkmen, whose suffering 1893was not much less than the suffering of the Kurds, and whose population (9%) 1894was not much less than the population of the Kurds (13%) (Knights 2004: 262; 1895Shah 2003: 4).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1896 1897<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1898140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 1899 1900<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1901140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Photo 19021<span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Peshmerga artillery shelling the 1903Turkmen village of <span class=SpellE>Bastamli</span>, south of Tuz Khurmatu 1904District<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1905 1906<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1907140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 1908style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span> 1909<span class="editlinktip hasTip" title="" > 1910 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/photo-tuz-1.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 1911 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/photo-tuz-1.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="500pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 1912 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 1913 1914 1915<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1916 1917<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1918140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Source: 1919Markus Bickel, 'Kein Schneller Krieg (No Quick Victory)' Frankfurter Allgemeine 1920Zeitung, 9 May 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1921 1922<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1923140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 1924 1925<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1926140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>It 1927has become clear today that the deliberate dwarfing of the Turkmen population 1928number in Iraq by the British Mandate of Iraq and the Iraqi monarchy when the 1929Iraqi Kingdom was established after World War I was for geopolitical reasons. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1930 1931<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1932140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 1933preliminary results of the 1957 census, which many Western authorities 1934considered closer to reality in terms of the size of Iraq's small constituents 1935(minorities), but which the Turkmen rejected, showed that the total Turkmen 1936population in Iraq was 136,806 (Al-Zubaidi 1981: 28). It should be noted that 1937the General Directorate of Population, which conducted the 1957 census, was 1938affiliated with the Ministry of Interior (General Directorate of Population 19391957), and Saeed <span class=SpellE>Qazzaz</span>, a Kurd from <span 1940class=SpellE>Sulaymaniya</span>, was the Minister of Interior (Saleh 2010: 1941309n16). However, the revised results of the same census, issued in 1958, when 1942the minister had changed, showed that the total Turkmen population in Iraq was 1943567,000 (Knights 2004: 262; Shah 2003: 4). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 1944 1945<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1946140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>According 1947to the General Directorate of Population, the initial results of the same 1948census estimated the Kurdish population in Kirkuk Governorate at 48.3% (General 1949Directorate of Population 1957: 243). The Kurds rely on these results in their 1950claims to ownership of Kirkuk Governorate and its inclusion in the Kurdish 1951region (Kane 2011: 5). However, revised results of the same census, as 1952mentioned above, showed that the Turkmen population in Iraq was a
1952pproximately 1953four times higher than the initial results. This increase in the Turkmen 1954population did not apply to the city and governorate of Kirkuk, which would 1955undoubtedly have led to a decrease in the proportion of Kurds in both the city 1956and governorate.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1957 1958<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1959140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>It 1960is worth noting that the 1957 census estimated the number of Kurds in Iraq at 1961about 900,000 people (13%) of the total populations of Iraq (Knights 2004: 262; 1962Shah 2003: 4). However, today the Kurds, with all their administrative, 1963political and academic authorities, along with Western sources and references, 1964exaggerate the number of Kurds in Iraq, sometimes to the extent of 25% (<span 1965class=SpellE>Jongerden</span> 2016: 1; Bengio 2017: 15; Lasky 2018: 1), and 1966thus they obtain privileges and gains from the Iraqi state by inflating their 1967percentage of the total population of Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1968 1969<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1970140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>However, 1971all but two or three Western publications (Knights 2004: 262; Shah 2003: 4) 1972ignore the revised census results and solely cite the preliminary results, 1973which underestimate the size of the Turkmen population in Iraq by approximately 1974four times. The adjusted results for individual Turkmen regions, particularly 1975Kirkuk, have not been published, as the Kurdish claim to Kirkuk is based 1976primarily on the preliminary erroneous results of the 1957 census, which 1977logically suggests that the Turkmen population in Kirkuk at that time was 1978deliberately dwarfed fourfold.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1979 1980<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1981140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Any 1982researcher of the geography of northern Iraq can easily notice the widespread 1983presence of Turkmen, whose vast lands extend across all northern governorates, 1984including Salah al-Din, <span class=GramE>all of</span> Diyala and even Kut 1985governorate. Dozens of Western reports on the massive displacement of people 1986during the rise of ISIS reveal a significant Turkmen presence among displaced 1987families throughout northern Iraq, including Diyala and Salah al-Din provinces 1988(United Nations Development <span class=SpellE>Programme</span> 2018: 33, 198966-67, 29-30).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 1990 1991<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 1992140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>A 1993quick look at Iraq's history, and the sources are multiple, indicates that the 1994mass Kurdish migration from the east to Turkmen regions is not ancient, having 1995increased significantly only since the 1930s. However, most Western reports and 1996other research outputs do not address this issue. Rather, many consider Turkmen 1997regions, such as the <span class=SpellE>Kifri</span> district and the city of 1998Erbil, where the Kurdish population subsequently increased, to be historically 1999Kurdish regions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2000 2001<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2002140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In 2003the same context, many Western reports consider Tuz Khurmatu a Kurdish region 2004or mention Kurds first when mentioning its componentsâeven though Turkmen still 2005constitute the majority (65%) in Tuz Khurmatu (Kirkuk Now 2024).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2006 2007<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2008140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>So 2009overall, information can be found distorted in <span class=SpellE>favour</span> 2010of the Kurds in most Western reports. To take just example among numerous, Vice 2011Media mis interpreted the barriers built by the Turkmen to repel attacks as 2012barriers to protect the Kurds from snipers (McDiarmid 2016).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2013 2014<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2015140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>According 2016to a report by the International Crisis Group, "During 2003-2017, the city of 2017Tuz saw frequent clashes between Kurdish parties ⦠and Turkmen parties <span 2018class=GramE>... .</span> Tuz's Kurdish residents fled, and the Hashd wrought 2019major destruction on Kurdish property. Backed by the Hashd, local government 2020administrators sacked Kurdish public employees who did not return, replacing 2021them with Turkmen" (International Crisis Group 2018: 16, 17).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2022 2023<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2024140%'><span class=GramE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 2025font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>In reality, the</span></span><span 2026style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 2027Turkmen were <span class=SpellE>defenceless</span>, exposed to daily terrorist 2028attacks, and unable to confront the three Peshmerga brigades and the 2029exclusively Kurdish security and police forces that controlled the city. 2030Moreover, after the formation of the Turkmen armed factions in 2014, three
2031clashes with the Peshmerga occurred there, up until 2017. This study already 2032has provided details of these clashes elsewhere, and the commentary on the 2033Amnesty International report in the following paragraph provides details of the 2034Kurds' flight from the city after the arrival of the Iraqi army and the damage 2035inflicted in their areas, and how it was exaggerated.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2036 2037<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2038140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>An 2039Amnesty International report on the Iraqi army's entry into Tuz Khurmatu in 2040October 2017, which must have been transmitted by the Kurds, clearly distorts 2041the facts in <span class=SpellE>favour</span> of the Kurds. The report states: 2042"It looked like 90% of the buildings in al-<span class=SpellE>Jumhuirya</span> 2043were burned <span class=GramE>... .</span> Those who had returned briefly to 2044the city reported seeing extensive damage to homes in al-<span class=SpellE>Jumhuriya</span> 2045and Hai Jamila, both Kurdish-majority <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span>". 2046In the article, Amnesty International published a satellite image of part of 2047Tuz Khurmatu showing some red and black spots to support its claims. It did not 2048give any title for the image other than to indicate some of the black spots, 2049claiming these were smoke rising from burning Kurdish homes. However, the 2050locations of the red and black spots in the image are overwhelmingly in Turkmen 2051areas. The image also shows the al-<span class=SpellE>Jumhuriya</span> <span 2052class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> mainly populated by Kurds, where there are 2053almost no black or red spots (Amnesty International 2017 (incl, quotes); see 2054Photo 2 further below). As usual, the Kurdish media distorted the facts even 2055further (<span class=SpellE>Rudaw</span> 2017).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2056 2057<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2058140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 2059mentioned above, the reliance of Western authorities, including academics, on 2060politicians, intellectuals, Peshmerga fighters, and other Kurdish actors as 2061sources of information about Iraqi minorities, especially the Turkmen, is one 2062of the most important reasons why Western reports and other research outputs 2063present misleading and even false information in <span class=SpellE>favour</span> 2064of the Kurds and their cause at the expense of non-Kurdish Iraqi communities. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2065 2066<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2067140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>For 2068example, a Western academic resurrected the Turkmen poet Hijri Dede about 2069twenty years after his death in 1952 and appointed him a member of the Turkmen 2070Writers' Union, with the aim of demonstrating the Turkmen's attempts to erase 2071Kirkuk's Kurdish identity and portray prominent Kurdish figures as Turkmen. He 2072also stated that Hijri Dede did not write poetry in Turkmen (<span 2073class=SpellE>Leezenberg</span> 1994: 12). However, <span class=GramE>the 2074overwhelming majority of</span> Hijri Dede's poems are in Turkmen (Fieldhouse 20752002: 176); true he also has poems in Persian-but no poems in Kurdish (Mardan 20762010: 12; Kakai 2019: 10).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2077 2078<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2079140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>An 2080Al-Jazeera report stated the following: "<span class=SpellE>Beshtowan</span> 2081Kadir, 44, says ... When he is wearing traditional Kurdish clothes, he cannot 2082visit the market. The Shia militia would kill me the minute they see me. Some 2083[Kurds] have lost their lives only because of who they are, and those who are 2084still alive cannot reveal their identity" (<span class=SpellE>Khoder</span> 20852016). This information starkly contrasts with the reality of Tuz Khurmatu 2086district between 2003 and 2017, when the Kurds controlled the city with <span 2087class=GramE>a large number of</span> Peshmerga, and the security and police 2088forces were entirely Kurdish. The Turkmen in the district were in a precarious 2089position, unable even to defend themselves. The Shi'ite factions that entered 2090Tuz in 2014 were affiliated with Shiite parties with close ties to Kurdish 2091parties and thus were careful not to <span class=SpellE>jeopardise</span> their 2092relationship amid the security chaos in Iraq. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2093 2094<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2095140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>One 2096must keep in mind that after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, Iraq <span 2097class=GramE>opened up</span> to Western media, human rights <span class=SpellE>organisations</span>, 2098and research <span class=SpellE>centres</span>, while vast areas of Iraq were 2099under Kurdish and Peshmerga administration. <span class=GramE>Later on</span>, 2100a large number of Western correspondents, human rights monitors, and 2101researchers flocked to the region to closely monitor and document the 2102situation, particularly with the rise of ISIS after the fall of Ba'ath regime. 2103The generally tense situation required assistance from the Kurdish parties and 2104administration, particularly Peshmerga fighters, to accompany these outsider 2105analysts to their areas of study or accompany the Peshmerga in their areas of 2106existence and dominance. They also received diverse logistical support from the 2107regional authorities.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2108 2109<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2110140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>This 2111situation has made Kurdish sources, such as the Peshmerga, Kurdish politicians, 2112administrators, and researchersâwho claim ownership of most of northern Iraq 2113and <span class=SpellE>
2113harbour</span> a strong desire to establish a 2114nation-state for the Kurdsâthe primary source of information for Westerners 2115about this troubled region, <span class=GramE>actually home</span> to diverse 2116Iraqi communities and minorities, including Turkmen. On the other hand, the 2117close relationship between Westerners and Kurds sustained the latter as a 2118primary source of information for Westerners about northern Iraq and its 2119communities. Professor Leezenberg's grave error stems from the fact that 2120Kurdish actors and sources were the primary source of his analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2121 2122<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2123140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2124 2125<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2126140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Photo 21272<span style='mso-tab-count:2'></span> A satellite photo of part 2128of Tuz Khurmatu city from a 2017 Amnesty International (AI) article to support 2129its claims<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2130 2131<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2132140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Variant 2133<span class=GramE>2.a</span><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>When AI site 2134and relevant article was visited on February 28, 2025<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2135 2136<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2137140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 2138style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span> 2139 2140 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/photo-tuz-2-a.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 2141 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/photo-tuz-2-a.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="700pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 2142 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 2143 2144 2145<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2146 2147<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2148140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2149 2150<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2151140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Variant 2152<span class=GramE>2.b</span><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>When AI site 2153and relevant article was visited on June 13, 2025: photo reduced in size and 2154the name Tuz Khurmatu removed<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2155 2156<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2157140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 2158style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span> 2159 2160 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/photo-tuz-2-b.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 2161 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/photo-tuz-2-b.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="700pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 2162 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 2163 2164 2165<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2166 2167<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2168140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Source: 2169Amnesty International, Iraq: Fresh evidence that tens of thousands forced to 2170flee Tuz Khurmatu amid indiscriminate attacks, lootings and arson Amnesty 2171International, 24 October 2017, pp.16, 17 (see Bibliography for webpage).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2172 2173<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2174140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>NB: 2175Names of the <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> were written by the 2176author of the article.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2177 2178<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2179140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2180 2181<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2182140%'><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2183Anfal campaign and the Western approach<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> 2184 2185<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2186140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2187dictionary meaning of the word al-Anfal is "(the) spoils". In Islamic 2188jurisprudence, as a Qur'anic Surah, al-Anfal refers to "the wealth of infidel 2189warriors seized by force and coercion during combat". The Anfal campaign, 2190launched by the Ba'ath regime in 1988, which included the destruction of mainly 2191Kurdish villages in some areas of northern Iraq, has been subject to widespread 2192distortion, to the point that it has become extremely difficult to find 2193reliable information about it in any publication. Western reports and studies 2194play a major role in exaggerating the campaign's content and results, in terms 2195of its human costs and geopolitical impact.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2196 2197<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2198140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>These 2199reports and studies have overestimated the areas covered by the campaign and 2200contradicted estimates of the number of operations it involved. Some 2201publications refer to six campaigns (Hasan 2021), others to seven (<span 2202class=SpellE>Hiltermann</span> 2008), while others estimate eight (Human Rights 2203Watch 1993: 10). Most of these publications include events within the Anfal 2204operations that <span class=GramE>actually were</span> not part of these, such 2205as the Iraqi army's April 1987 attacks on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 2206(PUK) headquarters in the village of <span class=SpellE>Balisan</span>, which 2207some western sources consider the beginning of the campaign. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2208 2209<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2210140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Others 2211consider the February 1988 attack on the village of al-<span class=SpellE>Jafati</span> 2212to be the beginning of it, and most Western publications include the chemical
2213attack on Halabja in March 1988 as part of the Anfal operations. There are also 2214differences in the duration of the Anfal operations. Some sources estimate it 2215to have lasted six months in 1988 (<span class=SpellE>Hiltermann</span> 2008; 2216Unrepresented Nations and Peoples <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 2013: 22172), while others indicate it continued until 1989 (McGregor 2009: 1-2)âor place 2218it between 1987 and 1988 (Bengio 2023). However, there is sometimes an implicit 2219acknowledgment in these publications that the operation began closer to the 2220actual date. For example, although the Human Rights Watch report considers the 2221February 1988 attack on al-<span class=SpellE>Jafati</span> to be the beginning 2222of the Anfal campaign, its table of contents places the beginning of the first 2223Anfal campaign on March 23, 1988 (Human Rights Watch 1993).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2224 2225<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2226140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2227 2228<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2229140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Map 22302 A sketch of the Anfal operations and their axes (April-May 1988)<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2231 2232<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2233140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 2234style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span> 2235 2236 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Map-tuz-2-a.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 2237 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Map-tuz-2-a.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="1300pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 2238 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 2239 2240 2241 2242<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2243 2244<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2245140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>NB: 2246sketch developed by the author<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2247 2248<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2249140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2250 2251<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2252140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2253Anfal operations were an official government plan, including specific actions 2254in specific areas, undertaken by the Ba'ath government in 1988. According to 2255Iraqi military personnel involved in the Anfal Campaign, the operation began in 2256Ramadan in April 1988 and consisted of three phases. The second phase was 2257conducted along three axes. The operational axes, participating Iraqi army 2258units, and their commanders were as follows (see Map 2 shown above):<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2259 2260<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2261140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 2262style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The first Anfal operation took place 2263along the <span class=SpellE>Sulaymaniya-Sargalu-Bargalu-Dokan</span> axis, 2264with the participation of the First National Army (<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الجحفل 2265الوطني الأول</span><span 2266dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>), led by Major General Saad Shams al-Din, 2267and lasted approximately ten days.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2268 2269<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2270140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 2271style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The second Anfal operation began 2272simultaneously along three axes, meeting in the <span class=SpellE>Sangaw</span> 2273area.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2274 2275<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2276140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>◦<span 2277style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The first axis: <span class=SpellE>Sulaymaniya</span>-Qara 2278Dagh-<span class=SpellE>Sangaw</span>, with the participation of the First 2279National Army, led by Major General Saeed Mohammed Hamdan.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2280 2281<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2282140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>◦<span 2283style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The second axis: <span class=SpellE>Chamchamal-Sangaw</span>, 2284with the participation of the Infantry Division Command (<span lang=AR-SA 2285dir=RTL>قيادة فرقة المشاة</span><span 2286dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>), led by Major General Saad Shams al-Din.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2287 2288<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2289140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>◦<span 2290style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The third axis: Tuz Khurmatu-Qader 2291Karam-<span class=SpellE>Sangaw</span>, with the participation of the Oil 2292Protection Forces Command (<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>قيادة 2293قوات حماية النفط</span><span 2294dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>), led by Major General Bariq Haj Hunta.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2295 2296<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2297140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>-<span 2298style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The third Anfal operation took place 2299along the <span class=SpellE>Chamchamal</span>-<span class=SpellE>Agjalar</span>-Shwan-Taq 2300Taq axis, with the participation of some of the forces that participated in the 2301previous operations.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2302 2303<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2304140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Each 2305phase of these Anfal operations lasted between one to two weeks, meaning the 2306entire operation lasted approximately one month and covered the area between 2307Kirkuk, Tuz Khurmatu, Kalar, <span class=SpellE>Sulaymaniya</span>, <span 2308class=SpellE>Dokan</span> and Altun <span class=SpellE>Kupri</span> (see Map 2 2309shown above). The population of villages in most of the Kurdish regions at 2310eastern northern Iraq, including the Anfal operations areas, had already been 2311depleted by pressure from the Peshmerga and years of economic sanctions imposed 2312by Ba'ath regime in response to Peshmerga attacks, and the hostile stance of 2313the Kurdish parties and their collaboration with Iran.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2314 2315<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2316140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Western 2317reports portray the Anfal campaign as a meticulously planned and carefully
2318executed military operation to exterminate the Kurdish people, exaggerating the 2319size and type of Iraqi forces involved (<span class=SpellE>Hiltermann</span> 23202008; Human Rights Watch 1993: 10). However, the Iraqi state was in a state of 2321administrative collapse, with most ministry employees joining the military and 2322budgets sharply reduced. Ministries such as education and health were in a 2323deplorable state, and chaos reigned in the administration of security and 2324police. Militarily, the Iraqi army was depleted by seven years of war with 2325Iran. The Anfal operations came at a time when Iraq was being subjected to 2326devastating attacks by the Iranian army, supported by Kurdish parties and the 2327Peshmerga in northern Iraq, and the Iraqi army, police, and security forces 2328were suffering from a severe shortage of qualified, trained, and experienced 2329personnel and logistical resources. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2330 2331<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2332140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 2333for Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin, whom he granted a number of 2334military and civilian ranks, including that of lieutenant general, and to whom 2335all Western reports attribute personal responsibility for planning and 2336executing these operations, had no advanced military education or experience, 2337having originally been a deputy officer in the Iraqi Air Force in Kirkuk during 2338the Ba'athist coup of 1968.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2339 2340<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2341140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Western 2342sources also greatly exaggerated the Iraqi army's use of chemical weapons 2343against the Kurds, as if all Kurdish areas had been bombarded with chemical 2344weapons. No conclusive evidence of any use of chemical weapons against the 2345Kurds in northern Iraq has been found, except for what occurred in Halabja. 2346Western correspondents and researchers appear to have accepted as fact 2347everything they were told by Kurdish authorities, political parties and 2348Peshmerga forces, as well as what they read in Kurdish sources, without 2349verifying its authenticity. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2350 2351<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2352140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>It 2353is well known to most members of the Iraqi army, especially officers, that 2354chemical weapons were never used against Kurdish areas except for Halabja. It 2355should be noted that the author of this article was a reserve medical officer 2356on the front lines between 1981 and 1985, moving along the front lines from the 2357most distant battlefield in <span class=SpellE>Gardamand</span> in northern 2358Iraq to the far south in the city of Al-Faw. Before and after that, he worked 2359in hospitals in Mosul and Kirkuk, where wounded soldiers and civilians 2360frequently received treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2361 2362<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2363140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Regarding 2364the non-use of chemical weapons in the Anfal operations, it was and is well 2365known to the <span class=GramE>general public</span>, even to non-political and 2366non-nationalist Kurds in and nearby most of the areas of the Anfal operations, 2367as they were adjacent to Tuz Khurmatu, Kirkuk and Altun <span class=SpellE>Kupri</span>, 2368and given that nearly half of the Anfal areas fall within the Kirkuk 2369Governorate. Knowing that Kurdish propaganda, supported by Western sources, is 2370so powerful and influential in those areas that when one asks about what 2371happened in the Anfal operations, one gets the answer that 180,000 Kurds were 2372killed by these operationâbut immediately followed with the remark, "But there 2373is no evidence to prove that".<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2374 2375<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2376140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>What 2377is known about the Anfal operations, which can also be noted in some Western 2378reports, is the fact that before these operations began, residents of all 2379relevant villages were informed of the necessity of evacuating the villages and 2380moving to the eastern Kurdish regions, otherwise they would be forcibly 2381transferred to settlements outside the region. Several collective housing 2382complexes were being identified for them in various areas of the governorates 2383of <span class=SpellE>Sulaymaniya</span>, Erbil and Kirkuk, as well as some southern 2384governorates. It is worth noting that residents of Turkmen villages demolished 2385during the same period, such as the village of Bashir, were also rehoused in
2386these complexes in the same region and in southern Iraq. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2387 2388<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2389140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>There 2390was no control over migration from these villages, as <span class=GramE>the 2391majority of</span> their inhabitants headed to nearby cities such as Tuz 2392Khurmatu and Kirkuk, where the Kurdish Al-<span class=SpellE>Jumhuriya</span> <span 2393class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> expanded, and the Kurdish Jamila <span 2394class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> emerged in Tuz Khurmatu. In Kirkuk, the 2395Kurdish <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> expanded too, and the 2396population of Rahim Awa increased significantly, to the point that it is now 2397the largest <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> in Kirkuk city in terms of 2398population. In 2020, the <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood's</span> population 2399was approximately 95,000 (Al-Jubouri 2021: 665). It is also worth noting that 2400the Rahim Awa <span class=SpellE>neighbourhood</span> is from the relatively 2401recent Kurdish <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span> in Kirkuk, emerging in 2402the second half of the twentieth century (International Crisis Group 2004: 9).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2403 2404<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2405140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Civil 2406service groups, such as teachers, had been formed in areas adjacent to the 2407Anfal operations' areas to inform villagers of the need to leave. Therefore, 2408when the Anfal campaign began, a large percentage of the population had already 2409left their villages, while those who remained offered almost no resistance or 2410disobedience. For example, in the eastern Laylan district of Kirkuk 2411Governorate, a small force made up of elements from the Popular Army, a 2412paramilitary <span class=SpellE>organisation</span> composed of Ba'ath Party 2413members, and the regular army, equipped with an <span class=SpellE>armoured</span> 2414vehicle and a cavalry unit, went out to inform villagers of the need to leave. 2415A Peshmerga force clashed with them, specifically in the village of Osman Lak, 2416resulting in the deaths of a police commissioner, two members of the Popular 2417Army, and several Peshmerga.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2418 2419<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2420140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Notably, 2421in July 1987, approximately several dozen Kurdish civilians, including children 2422and women, and Iraqi soldiers wounded by chemical weapons were transferred from 2423the <span class=SpellE>Penjwen</span>-Sayyid Sadiq Operations field to the 2424Republican Hospital in Kirkuk Governorate. The author of this article was a 2425senior resident physician at the hospital at the time, who learned from his 2426fellow treating physicians that these casualties had been wounded by Iranian 2427shelling. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2428 2429<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2430140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2431question that arises here is: if the Ba'ath government wanted to exterminate 2432the Kurds through the widespread use of chemical weapons, as Western reports 2433and research tend to depict, why did it bring in and treat the wounded from 2434chemical weapons? This was <span class=GramE>despite the fact that</span> 2435transporting these wounded from the front lines and treating them was a 2436daunting task at a time when fierce fighting was raging in the region and Iraqi 2437military capabilities had been depleted due to the length of the Iraq-Iran war. 2438Information circulated at the time among army personnel about the presence of 2439chemical injuries that were unlike those caused by the chemical weapons 2440possessed by the Iraqi army.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2441 2442<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2443140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 2444for the direct causes that exposed the Kurds to the Anfal operations and other 2445operations, particularly during the Iran-Iraq War, almost all Western 2446publications attribute these solely to the Ba'ath regime's <span class=SpellE>Arabisation</span> 2447policy (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 24482013: 2) without addressing the direct underlying causes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2449 2450<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2451140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2452armed Kurdish movement against the Iraqi state had virtually ended after the 24531975 Algiers Agreement between Baghdad and Tehran, which forced Iran to cease 2454its military and logistical support for the Kurdish movement. Iranian 2455artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, and a wireless communications station had 2456provided direct support to the Kurdish movement at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2457 2458<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2459140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2460Kurdish movement re-emerged in the 1980s thanks to its support and active 2461participation in Iranian military attacks on the Iraqi army, even planning and 2462carrying out joint attacks with the Iranian army (<span class=SpellE>Hiltermann</span> 24632008). They also served as guides for the Iranian army inside Iraq. In return, 2464the Kurdish movement received all forms of financial and military support from 2465the Iranian state. The Peshmerga militias assisted Iranian forces in 2466penetrating deep into Iraqi territory, sometimes bombing vital targets, such as 2467the oil facilities in the city of Kirkuk.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2468 2469<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2470140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2471Iraq-Iran War not only revived the Kurdish armed <span class=GramE>movement,
2472but</span> also created a vast battlefield for it and expanded the scope of 2473Kurdish party attacks to encompass vast areas. They controlled only a 2474relatively narrow strip of Iraqi territory along the Iranian border, such as 2475the <span class=SpellE>Penjwen</span> and Haji Omran areas, and then some 2476rugged valleys between the towering mountains inside Iraq such as the <span 2477class=SpellE>Sargalo-Bargalo</span> and <span class=SpellE>Balisan</span> 2478areas, where the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (<span 2479lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الاتحاد الوطني 2480الكردستاني</span><span 2481dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>) were located, as well as in the village 2482of Gali <span class=SpellE>Zewa</span> in Dohuk Governorate, where the 2483headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الحزب 2484الديمقراطي الكردستاني</span><span 2485dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>) was located.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2486 2487<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2488140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2489Iraqi state also lost almost complete control over the eastern half of northern 2490Iraq <span class=GramE>as a result of</span> the continuous attacks launched by 2491the Peshmerga militias on government departments and facilities, employees and 2492civilian and military traffic in 1980s. This was also due to the Iraqi army's 2493preoccupation with combat operations on the front lines along the Iraq-Iran 2494border, which is nearly 1,000 <span class=SpellE>kilometres</span> long. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2495 2496<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2497140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Under 2498these difficult circumstances and facing almost daily attacks by Kurdish 2499militias on the external roads even at the level of villages, soldiers, senior 2500officers and larger units of the Iraqi army were constantly moving to supply 2501and maintain front-line military units with equipment and provisions along the 2502Iraq-Iran border throughout the eight years of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). 2503Army personnel would pass through these roads to enjoy their monthly vacations. 2504<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2505 2506<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2507140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>These 2508movements were most intense during Iranian offensives, which sometimes lasted 2509for months, as regiments, brigades and even entire divisions of the Iraqi army 2510moved toward the front lines to support combat units and repel Iranian attacks. 2511For example, the Iranian offensive on Mount Mawat lasted nearly a year, from 2512April 1987 to the first months of 1988. The losses during these attacks were 2513heavy, with thousands killed; military hospitals in many provinces were often 2514overwhelmed with seriously wounded, requiring the additional use of civilian 2515hospitals. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2516 2517<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2518140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2519Peshmerga launched continuous attacks on vehicle and road traffic, particularly 2520against Iraqi army personnel, vehicles, institutions, and units, generally 2521launched from Kurdish villages. In response the state had banned intercity 2522traffic after 4 p.m. and until the following morning on roads across a vast 2523area that encompassed roughly the eastern half of northern Iraq. These measures 2524had been in place for long periods, even before the Iraq-Iran War.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2525 2526<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2527140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>These 2528military convoys were subjected to continuous attacks by Kurdish militias, 2529resulting each time in dozens of deaths and injuries before they reached the 2530front. The cousin of the author of this article, Mazhar Ahmed, a 33-year-old 2531man with three children and a wife, was killed in 1986 during Peshmerga attacks 2532on a Special Forces brigade on the Kirkuk-<span class=SpellE>Sulaymaniya</span>
2533Road. The brigade was on its way to the front to support army units repelling a 2534major Iranian attack at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2535 2536<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2537140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 2538for the chemical attack on Halabja on March 16, 1988, it occurred after Iranian 2539forces, alongside Peshmerga, surprised Iraqi army units and annihilated two 2540brigades. One brigade was on the front lines, while the 68th Special Forces 2541Brigade came to support the repelling of the Iranian-Kurdish attack. The Anfal 2542operations may <span class=GramE>to a large extent have been</span> a sadly 2543vengeful response of the Ba'ath regime to the Iranian-Kurdish attack on 2544Halabja, as the official starting date for the Anfal operations was in the second 2545half of April 1988.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2546 2547<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2548140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Western 2549reports and research have greatly exaggerated the number of casualties by the 2550Anfal operations. Some Western studies estimated the number of Kurdish 2551fatalities at fifty thousand (Human Rights Watch 1993), while other Western 2552reports put the number at one hundred thousand killed. Some reports even 2553estimated the number of Kurdish deaths during the campaign at two hundred 2554thousand (Newton 2007: 1530). These figures were echoed in countless subsequent 2555Western reports and studies. Undoubtedly, these exaggerations of the death toll 2556played a significant role in inflaming the sentiments of the international 2557community, especially in the West, generating overwhelming feelings of sympathy 2558and attracting significant support for the Kurdish cause. This excessive 2559exaggeration of the Kurds' suffering, which has brought them immense 2560international sympathy and support, can be considered as one of the reasons 2561behind the neglect of the suffering of other Iraqi communities by international 2562community, the Kurds' push to claim the lands of other Iraqi communities, and 2563Kurdish attempts to partition Iraq. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2564 2565<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2566140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Although 2567the Kurdish parties and Peshmerga forces, with full support from the US-led 2568coalition, gained near-total control over the Iraqi state administration for 2569several years after the fall of the Ba'ath regime in 2003, and although Kurdish 2570influence in Iraq has remained strong since then, they have been unable to find 2571or provide the slightest tangible evidence of such a massive death toll, not 2572even the bodies of the few thousand Kurds killed during the Anfal campaigns.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2573 2574<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2575140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>If 2576the Iraqi army used chemical weapons against the Kurds extensively and in 2577numerous areas, according to Western reports and research, and if every Anfal 2578operations was preceded by chemical bombing, and that the Anfal operation took 2579place in eight stages covering most of the Kurdish regions, it is likely that 2580the killed victims of the chemical bombing remained in the Kurdish areasâor at 2581least half of the 50 to 200 thousand fatalities, according to Western research. 2582The questions which arise here, are: where are the bodies of at least 100,000 2583Kurds? Is it conceivable that the Iraqi army would have been able at the time 2584to gather all those bodies contaminated with chemical weapons and hide them 2585during this critical period without anyone seeing them? How was this enormous 2586number of bodies hidden? How many tons of chemical weapons were used to kill 2587this massive number of people, and how much did these operations cost, given 2588the depletion of the Iraqi economy? How did the Iraqi Air Force engage in this 2589massive operation, while it was embroiled in a fierce war that threatened to 2590cost Iraqi territory?<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2591 2592<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2593140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>However, 2594as mentioned earlier in this article, a Dutch court ruled in 2007 that the 2595Anfal operations did not constitute a wholesale massacre (Heller 2007), as so 2596often claimed by western sources which largely means that chemical weapons were 2597not used during the operations.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2598 2599<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2600140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Some 2601participants of the Iraqi army in the Anfal operations estimate that
2602approximately 300 villages were evacuated during the entire operation, and 2603several thousand villagers were displaced. Some also point to the execution of 2604many villagers proven to have committed acts against the state and to be 2605members of the Peshmerga.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2606 2607<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2608140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2609 2610<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2611140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Discussion 2612and Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 2613 2614<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2615140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2616Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights' report submitted to the United Nations 2617Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2018 states the 2618following:<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2619 2620<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2621140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Regarding 2622the violations committed against the Turkmen community in the Tuz Khurmatu 2623district, the Commission notes that the Turkmen in this district have been 2624subjected to systematic targeting by terrorists and groups associated with them 2625for 15 years, without the presence of a local or central force to protect them 2626(Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights 2018: 9).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2627 2628<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2629140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2630report's failure to openly address the culpability or even participation of the 2631Kurdish parties and the Peshmerga in the daily attacks against the Turkmen for 2632fifteen years, despite the fact that the Kurdish parties, the Peshmerga and the 2633Kurdish security services were the only forces responsible for protecting 2634Turkmen and Turkmen areas, is clearly due to the fact that attacking the ruling 2635powers in undemocratic cultures is taboo and entails significant risks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2636 2637<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2638140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 2639with the tragedies experienced by the Iraqi Turkmen from the establishment of 2640the Iraqi state, this long period of tragedy experienced by the Turkmen in Tuz 2641Khurmatu has also been inadequately documented to this dayâand is unknown to 2642most Iraqis, regionally, and internationally.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2643 2644<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2645140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>This 2646is primarily due to the <span class=SpellE><span class=GramE>marginalisation</span></span> 2647and oppression suffered by the Iraqi Turkmen at the hands of the Ba'ath regime 2648for more than thirty years. It is also due to the Turkish state's control over 2649the Turkmen's political will since the 1990s, and its dominance over their 2650political institutions and civil society. For the same reasons, the Turkmen 2651have failed to establish their own professional civil society <span 2652class=SpellE>organisations</span> and strategic and political institutions 2653capable of confronting major challenges. This Turkish dominance over the 2654Turkmen political system has also led to their general <span class=SpellE>marginalisation</span>, 2655especially after the fall of the Ba'ath regime, as a result of strained <span 2656class=GramE>Turkish-American</span> relations due to Turkey's refusal to 2657cooperate with the United States in overthrowing the Ba'ath government (<span 2658class=SpellE>Jerjis</span> 2020; SOITM Foundation 2019).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2659 2660<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2661140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>As 2662is the case with the Turkmen of Tuz Khurmatu, it is quite abnormal for <span 2663class=GramE>the majority of</span> a region's population to be subjected to 2664horrific human rights violations for more than a decade without attracting the 2665attention or intervention of national, regional, or international powers. Not 2666to mention that Iraq has been the focus of the world's attention' for numerous 2667years now, with correspondents from major Western media outlets and 2668representatives of international human rights <span class=SpellE>organisations</span> 2669being constantly present in the region.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2670 2671<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2672140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>This 2673means, at the same time, that the Turkmen presence in Iraq is unknown 2674nationally, regionally, and internationally, and that their large population 2675size and vast territory are virtually unknown. One of the most important 2676reasons for this neglect is that the Turkmen presence in Iraq was a factor in 2677Turkey's efforts to gain control of the Ottoman province of Mosul, an issue 2678discussed at the Lausanne and League of Nations conferences for eight years 2679from 1918 to 1926 (Fieldhouse 2002: 107; Yildirim 2018: 169-186). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2680 2681<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2682140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Both 2683the British Mandate and the Kingdom of Iraq deliberately underestimated the 2684Turkmen population as a result, falsely estimating it at around a mere 2%, a 2685figure repeated by successive Iraqi governments amid growing Arab nationalist 2686sentiments until the fall of the Ba'ath regime in 2003, details of which have 2687been given elsewhere in this study.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2688 2689<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2690140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>The 2691absence of a functioning state, the extreme lack of security, and the sectarian 2692war that followed the fall of the Ba'ath regime played a role in obscuring the 2693repression suffered by the Turkmen and other Iraqi communities under Kurdish 2694protection. Moreover, the new Iraqi administration and the international 2695community were shocked by the emergence and rapid development of Sunni 2696extremism and were primarily preoccupied with sectarian fighting in Baghdad and 2697central Iraq, which diminished their focus on what was happening to Arabs, 2698Turkmen, and other Iraqi minorities under the control of Kurdish tribal parties 2699and unprofessional Peshmerga forces (Fadel 2008; Smith 2017; Bali 2008; Amnesty 2700International 2016; Human Rights Watch 2004).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2701 2702<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2703140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Other 2704reasons for not revealing the true nature of the suffering and challenges faced 2705by the Turkmen in general, and the people of Tuz Khurmatu between 2003 and <span 2706class=GramE>2017 in particular, is</span> the lack of experience in managing 2707state affairs among all the political cadres in the Iraqi parties that assumed 2708power after the fall of the Ba'ath regime (Note 3). This is <span class=GramE>with 2709the exception of</span> the Kurdish parties, which gained some experience in 2710managing the Kurdish areas in the de facto Safe Haven between 1991 and 2003. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2711 2712<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2713140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Moreover, 2714the Kurdish parties, with their modest experience in state administration and 2715unprofessional Peshmerga forces, controlled nearly half of Iraq's territory 2716until 2017, where the population is currently estimated at 20 million and where 2717virtually all of Iraq's minorities and millions of Arabs live. The insistence 2718of the Kurdish parties and Peshmerga on establishing a Kurdish state at any 2719cost, along with the reliance of Western media, academic and strategic 2720institutions on Kurdish politicians and Peshmerga, played a prominent role in 2721this regard.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2722 2723<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2724140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>This 2725article also concludes that the Western approach, through its policies, media, 2726civil society <span class=SpellE>organisations</span> and research <span 2727class=SpellE>centres</span>, toward events in northern Iraq that affect all 2728Iraqi communities, including the Tuz Khurmatu issue, is unfair and biased in <span 2729class=SpellE>
2729favour</span> of the Kurds. The manuscript also indicates that the 2730vast number of narratives they promoted about the Anfal operations are based on 2731their personal imaginations, woven by their Kurdish sources, including Kurdish 2732officials, politicians, writers and informants, which were prepared for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2733 2734<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2735140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2736 2737<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2738140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2739 2740<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2741140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Sheth 2742<span class=SpellE>Jerjis</span> is Chairperson of the Iraqi Turkmen Human 2743Rights Research Foundation (<span class=SpellE>Stichting</span> <span 2744class=SpellE>Onderzoekscentrum</span> <span class=SpellE>Iraaks</span> <span 2745class=SpellE>Turkmeense</span> <span class=SpellE>Mensenrechten</span> (SOITM) 2746in Dutch) based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. [email protected]<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2747 2748<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2749140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2750 2751<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2752140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>* 2753This research and the original version of this paper was presented at the 2754"Memory of Pain in Iraq" conference, <span class=SpellE>organised</span> by the 2755al-Abbas Holy Shrine, UNESCO and the College of Arts at the University of 2756Baghdad on April 16-17, 2025, in the city of Karbala, Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2757 2758<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2759140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>** 2760Sheth <span class=SpellE>Jerjis</span>, President of the Iraqi Turkmen Human 2761Rights Research Foundation, based in the Netherlands (www.turkmen.nl).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2762 2763<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2764140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2765 2766<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2767140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Notes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 2768 2769<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2770140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>1.<span 2771style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Information for this study on events in 2772the region after the fall of the regime in 2003 was obtained from Turkmen 2773politicians in the administration of Tuz Khurmatu district, members of the Tuz 2774Khurmatu District Council, which was dissolved in 2019, and eyewitnesses. Their 2775identities have been in this study concealed for their safety.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2776 2777<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2778140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>2.<span 2779style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The information was obtained by telephone 2780contact with the administration of the Iraqi Turkmen Rescue Foundation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2781 2782<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2783140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>3.<span 2784style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>The founding principles of the Arab 2785Socialist Ba'ath Party were the establishment of Arab unity and liberation from 2786colonialism through a socialist system, and it raised the slogans of unity, 2787freedom and socialism. The party adopted a revolutionary approach and did not 2788restrict itself to any means in achieving its goals. Over time, Saddam Hussein 2789in Iraq and Hafez al-Assad in Syria gained control of the party, and their 2790ideas and <span class=SpellE>behaviour</span> became the identity of the Ba'ath 2791Party. The main differences between the Iraqi and Syrian Ba'ath parties are 2792that the former adopted more moderate socialist policies, perhaps due to Iraq's 2793vast oil wealth, and an extreme nationalist approach to the multi-ethnic Iraqi 2794society, which had been subjected to oppression. In Syria, the party adopted 2795more strident socialist policies, perhaps due to the country's lack of natural 2796resources, and an extreme religious policy that suppressed religious sects, particularly 2797Sunnis, due to the Alawite leadership and the widespread presence of the Muslim 2798Brotherhood in Syria.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2799 2800<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2801140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2802 2803<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2804140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 2805 2806<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2807140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>BibliographyâReferences<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 2808 2809<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2810140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Al-Ansary,
2811Kh., 'Suicide truck bomber kills dozens in northern Iraq' Reuters, 21 June 28122009; www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE55J1GL20090621 (accessed on 27 2813February 2025). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2814 2815<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2816140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Al-Azzawi, 2817A., The Tribes of Iraq (2) Kurdish Baghdad: Al-Maarif Press, 1947.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2818 2819<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2820140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Al-Bayati, 2821A. T. K., <span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>قضاء طوز 2822خورماتو: دراسة 2823في الجغرافيا الإقليمية</span><span 2824dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span> (Tuz Khurmatu District: A Study in 2825Regional Geography) PhD Thesis, College of Education for Girls - University of 2826Baghdad, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2827 2828<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2829140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Al-Jarida, 2830'<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>العنف في العراق 2831يحصد ١٥٠ قتيلاً 2832وجيش المجاهدين 2833<span class=GramE>يلاحق )القاعدة</span>( 2834في بعقوبة</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 2835dir=LTR></span>' (Violence in Iraq claims 150 lives and the Mujahideen Army 2836pursues Al-Qaeda in <span class=SpellE>Baqubah</span>)' Al-Jarida News website, 2837Issue 32, 8 July 2007; www.aljarida.com/articles/1461250330055809700 (accessed 283827 February 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2839 2840<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2841140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Al-Jazeera, 2842'Iraq attacks kill dozens' Al-Jazeera Media Network, 16 September 2005; 2843www.aljazeera.com/news/2005/9/16/iraq-attacks-kill-dozens (accessed on 12 June 28442025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2845 2846<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2847140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Al-Jubouri, 2848R. A. Y.,<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2849 2850<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2851140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 2852style='mso-spacerun:yes'>Â </span>'<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>تحليل 2853جغرافي لمشكلة 2854العشوائيات السكنية 2855في مدينة كركوك 2856وسبل معالجتها</span><span 2857dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>' (A geographical analysis of the problem 2858of slums in Kirkuk city and ways to address them)' Humanities and Natural 2859Sciences Journal Vol. 2, No. 9, 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2860 2861<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2862140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Al-Zubaidi, 2863L. A., <span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>ثورة ١٤ تموز 2864١٩٥٨ في العراق</span><span 2865dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span> (The July 14, 1958, Revolution in Iraq) Baghdad: 2866Arab Library, Second Edition, 1981.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2867 2868<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2869140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Amnesty 2870International, Banished and dispossessed. Forced displacement and deliberate 2871destruction in Northern Iraq London: Amnesty International, 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2872 2873<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2874140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>______________________, 2875Iraq: Fresh evidence that tens of thousands forced to flee Tuz Khurmatu amid 2876indiscriminate attacks, lootings and arson London: Amnesty International, 24 2877October 2017; 2878www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2017/10/iraq-fresh-evidence-that-tens-of-thousands-forced-to-flee-tuz-khurmatu-amid-indiscriminate-attacks-lootings-and-arson/ 2879(accessed on 28 February 2025 and revisited on 13 June 2025 - see Photo 2).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2880 2881<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2882140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Baker, 2883P. H., Iraq as a Failed State: A six-month progress report. Executive Summary 2884and Recommendations Report 1: Pre-war through September 2003 Washington: Fund 2885for Peace, 2003.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2886 2887<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2888140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Bengio, 2889O., 'The Kurds in a Volatile Middle East' Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic 2890Studies: Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 130, February 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2891 2892<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2893140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>__________, 2894'Anfal and Halabja genocide: lessons not learned' The Journal of the Middle 2895East and Africa Vol.14 No.3, 2023, pp.277-298.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2896 2897<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2898140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Bickel, 2899M., 'Kein <span class=SpellE>schneller</span> Sieg (No Quick Victory)' Frankfurter 2900Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 May 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2901 2902<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2903140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 2904font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Buratha</span></span><span style='font-size: 290516.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> News Agency, ''<span 2906lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>احصائية: 2907{١٣٨٩} شهيدا وجريحا 2908وتدمير {٤٧٠}
2908 منزلا 2909حصيلة {٣١} تفجيرا 2910استهدف طوز خرماتو 2911في ١٠سنوات</span><span 2912dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span> (Statistics: 1,389 martyrs and wounded, 2913and 470 homes destroyed, <span class=GramE>as a result of</span> 31 bombings 2914targeting Tuz Khurmatu in 10 years)' <span class=SpellE>Buratha</span> News 2915Agency, 3 July 2013; https://burathanews.com/arabic/news/201587 (accessed on 27 2916February 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2917 2918<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2919140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Central 2920Statistical Organization, '<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>تقديرات 2921سكان العراق 2922٢٠١٥-٢٠١٨</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 2923dir=LTR></span>' (Iraq Population Estimates 2015-2018) Central Statistical 2924Organization: Directorate of Population, Statistics and Labor Force, Ministry 2925of Planning, Republic of Iraq, July 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2926 2927<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2928140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Derzsi-Horvath, 2929A., Iraq after ISIL: Tuz Berlin: Global Public Policy Institute, 17 August 29302017.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2931 2932<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2933140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Edmonds, 2934C. J., Kurds Turks and Arabs: Politics, Travel and Research in North-Eastern 2935Iraq 1919-1925 London: Oxford University Press, 1957.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2936 2937<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2938140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>European 2939Asylum Support Office, Iraq - Treatment of Kurds in Tuz and Kirkuk European 2940Asylum Support Office (EASO): COI Query, Query Code Q131, 14 December 2018; 2941www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2003099/IRQ_131.pdf (accessed on 24 April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2942 2943<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2944140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Fadel, 2945L., 'Kurdish Expansion Squeezes Northern Iraq's Minorities' McClatchy, 11 2946November 2008; www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24509785.html 2947(website accessed on 24 April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2948 2949<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2950140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Fieldhouse, 2951D. K., Kurds, Arabs and Britons: The Memoir of Col. W.A. Lyon in Kurdistan, 29521918-1945 London: I.B. Tauris, 2002. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 2953 2954<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2955140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Gaston, 2956E. & A. Derzsi-Horvath, Iraq After ISIL: Sub-State Actors, Local Forces, 2957and the Micro-Politics of Control Berlin: Public Policy Institute, 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2958 2959<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2960140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>General 2961Directorate of Population (1957), <span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>المجموعة 2962الإحصائية لتسجيل 2963سنة ١٩٥٧</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 2964dir=LTR></span> (Statistical Group for the 1957 Registration) General 2965Directorate of Population: Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Interior, Sulaymaniyah 2966and Kirkuk Governorates Baghdad: Al-Ani Press, 1957.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2967 2968<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2969140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Hasan, 2970G., '<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>عمليات الانفال<span 2971class=GramE>"..</span> الابادة الجماعية 2972ضد الشعب الكوردي</span><span 2973dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span>" ("Anfal Operations": Genocide Against the 2974Kurdish People)' Draw Media Foundation, 14 April 2021; 2975www.drawmedia.net/ar/page_detail?smart-id=8192 (accessed on 2 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2976 2977<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2978140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 2979font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>
2979Hauslohner</span></span><span 2980style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, 2981A., 'Iraqi Crisis: Villagers Sprayed with Bullets as They Flew Black Flags of 2982ISIS' Independent, 24 June 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2983 2984<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2985140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Heller, 2986K. J., 'Dutch Court Concludes Anfal Campaign Wasn't Genocide' <span 2987class=SpellE>Opinio</span> Juris, 19 May 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2988 2989<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2990140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>High 2991Commission for Human Rights in Iraq, Report on Iraq's Compliance with the 2992International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial 2993Discrimination High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq: European Country of 2994Origin Information Network, <span class=GramE>2018;</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> 2995 2996<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 2997140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1452161/1930_1542968137_int-cerd-ngo-irq-32978-e.pdf 2998<o:p></o:p></span></p> 2999 3000<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3001140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(accessed 3002on 2 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3003 3004<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3005140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3006font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Hiltermann</span></span><span 3007style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, 3008J., The 1988 Anfal Campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan National Foundation of Political 3009Science Paris Institute of Political Studies, 3 February 2008; 3010www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/1988-anfal-campaign-iraqi-kurdistan.html 3011(accessed on 2 June 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3012 3013<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3014140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Human 3015Rights Watch, Genocide in Iraq, The Anfal Campaign against the Kurds <span 3016class=GramE>A</span> Middle East Watch Report London/New York/Washington 3017DC/etc.: Human Rights Watch, 1993.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3018 3019<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3020140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>____________________, 3021'Claims in Conflict Reversing Ethnic Cleansing in Northern Iraq' Human Rights 3022Watch Vol. 16, No.4(e), August 2004.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3023 3024<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3025140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>_____________________, 3026'Iraq: Fighting in Disputed Territories Kills Civilians' Human Rights Watch, 20 3027January 2017; 3028www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/20/iraq-fighting-disputed-territories-kills-civilians 3029(accessed on 10 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3030 3031<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3032140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3033font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Imamli</span></span><span style='font-size: 303416.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, M.,<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3035 3036<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3037140%'><span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3038font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>برنامج ) رجال 3039صدقوا ( الجزء٢/الحلقة١٩/المخطوف 3040جودت قاضي أوغلو/دائرة 3041الوقف الشيعي طوز 3042خورماتو</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 3043lang=AR-SA style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 3044dir=LTR></span> </span><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3045font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p> 3046 3047<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3048140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(Program 3049of Men of Truth, Part 2, Episode 19, the Kidnapped Jawdat <span class=SpellE>Kadioglu</span>, 3050Shiite Endowment Department, Tuz Khurmatu)' Mohamed <span class=SpellE>Imamli</span> 3051YouTube account, 7 September 2022; www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtJa09DDz-4 3052(accessed on 27 February 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3053 3054<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3055140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>International 3056Crisis Group, Iraq's Kurds: Toward an Historic Compromise? International Crisis 3057Group (ICG) - Middle East Report No.26, 8 April 2004; 3058www.crisisgroup.org/sites/default/files/26-iraq-s-kurds-toward-an-historic-compromise.pdf 3059(accessed on 2 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3060 3061<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3062140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>____________________________, 3063Iraq and the Kurds: The Brewing Battle over Kirkuk International Crisis Group 3064(ICG) - Middle East Report No.56, 18 July 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3065 3066<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3067140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>_____________________________, 3068Reviving UN Mediation on Iraq's Disputed Internal Boundaries ICG - Middle East 3069Report No.194, 14 December 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3070 3071<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3072140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>International 3073<span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> for Migration, Progress Toward Durable 3074Solutions in Iraq: Tuz Khurmatu Baghdad: International <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 3075for Migration (IOM) - Displacement tracking Database (DTM), August 2024. 'International 3076<span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> for Migration 2024A'<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3077 3078<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3079140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>________________________________________, 3080Prospects for Resolving Displacement in Areas of Limited and No Return in Tuz 3081Khurmatu District IOM - UN Migration, December 2024. 'International <span 3082class=SpellE>Organisation</span> for Migration 2024B' <o:p></o:p></span></p> 3083 3084<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3085140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Islamic 3086Union of Iraqi Turkmen,<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3087 3088<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3089140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><span 3090style='mso-spacerun:yes'>Â </span><span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الشهداء 3091التركمان: صفحات 3092من التاريخ السياسي 3093المعاصر لتركمان 3094العراق ١٩٧٩ - 3095١٩٩١</span><span dir=LTR></span><span lang=AR-SA><span 3096dir=LTR></span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> 3097 3098<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3099140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(The 3100Turkmen Martyrs: Pages from the Contemporary Political History of Iraqi Turkmen 31011979-1991) Damascus: Dar Al-Daleel for Press and Publishing / Islamic Union of 3102Iraqi Turkmen (IUIT), 1999.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3103 3104<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3105140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3106font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Jerjis</span></span><span style='font-size: 310716.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, S., 'The Emergence 3108and Collapse of the Iraqi Turkmen Political System under the Domination of 3109Turkey' Forum of <span class=SpellE>EthnoGeoPolitics</span> Vol.8 No.2, Winter 31102020; www.turkmen.nl/1A_soitm/ECITPSTCe.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3111 3112<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3113140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>________, 3114'Who owns Erbil? The Turkmen Case' Forum of <span class=SpellE>EthnoGeoPolitics</span> 3115Vol.10 No.1-2, Winter 2022; www.turkmen.nl/1A_soitm/WOEE.pdf (accessed on 23 3116April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3117 3118<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3119140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3120font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Jongerden</span></span><span 3121style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, J. 3122& A.H. Akkaya<span class=GramE>, ,</span> 'Kurds and the PKK', in: J. Stone 3123et al., Wiley Blackwell <span class=SpellE>Encyclopaedia</span> of Race, 3124Ethnicity and Nationalism London: Routledge, 2016, pp.1-5.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3125 3126<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3127140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Kakai, 3128R. A., <span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>كاكائي: يارسان</span><span 3129dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span> (Kakai: Yarsan) Iraqi Minorities Alliance 3130Network, 2019.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3131 3132<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3133140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Kane, 3134S., Iraq's Disputed Territories. A View of the Political Horizon and 3135Implications for U.S. Policy Washington DC: United States Institute for Peace, 31362011; www.usip.org/sites/default/files/PW69_final.pdf (website accessed on 10 3137June 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3138 3139<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3140140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3141font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Khoder</span></span><span style='font-size: 314216.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, S., 'Iraq: The 3143separating walls of Tuz Khurmatu' Al-Jazeera Media Network, 18 April 2016; 3144www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/4/18/iraq-the-separating-walls-of-tuz-khurmatu 3145(accessed on 22 April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3146 3147<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3148140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Kirkuk 3149Now, 'Government Positions of Tuz Khurmatu District Shared' Kirkuk Now 3150electronic news website, 21 May 2024; https://kirkuknow.com/en/news/70183 3151(accessed on 10 October 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3152 3153<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3154140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Knights, 3155M., Operation Iraqi Freedom and the New Iraq <span class=GramE>The</span> 3156Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2004.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3157 3158<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3159140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Lasky, 3160From Tribe to Nation: Assessing the Influence of Political Exclusion and Access 3161to Mobilization Resources on Kurdish Ethnonationalism Undated manuscript, prob. 3162<span class=GramE>2018;</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> 3163 3164<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3165140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>https://concept.journals.villanova.edu/index.php/concept/article/download/2261/2151/6842 3166(accessed on 9 June 2025). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 3167 3168<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3169140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>League 3170of Nations, Question of the Frontier Between Turkey and Iraq Report Submitted
3171to the Council by the Commission instituted by the Council Resolution of 3172September 30th, <span class=GramE>1924</span> Lausanne: League of Nations, 31731924.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3174 3175<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3176140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3177font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Leezenberg</span></span><span 3178style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, 3179M., The Shabak and the <span class=SpellE>Kakais</span>: Dynamics of Ethnicity 3180in Iraqi Kurdistan Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) 3181Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 1994; 3182https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/630/1/X-1994-07.text.pdf (accessed on 13 3183June 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3184 3185<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3186140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Mahdi, 3187O., <span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>فشلت مباحثاتهما... 3188أربيل دعت بغداد 3189إلى وقف نقل ضباطها 3190والتحقيق</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 3191dir=LTR></span> (Their talks failed... Erbil called on Baghdad to halt the 3192transfer of its officers and investigate) Elaph Publishing Limited, 28 December 31932013; https://elaph.com/news/789410/?page=1&per-page=10 (accessed on 20 3194April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3195 3196<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3197140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Mardan, 3198N., '<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>الزوراء 3199وبدايات الصحافة 3200العراقية في العهد 3201العثماني</span><span dir=LTR></span><span 3202dir=LTR></span>' (Al-Zawraa and the Beginnings of Iraqi Journalism in the 3203Ottoman Era)' Iraqi Memory Issue 1921, Year 7, 14 June 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3204 3205<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3206140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>McDiarmid, 3207C., 'The Iraqi Town Where Kurds and Turkmens Shoot Each Other, Not Islamic 3208State' Vice Media, 4 May 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3209 3210<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3211140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>McGregor, 3212A., 'Iraq-Based Komala Party Describes the Struggle for Iranian Kurdistan' The 3213Jamestown Foundation - Terrorism Monitor <span class=SpellE>Vol.VII</span> 3214Issue 10, 24 April 2009; 3215https://jamestown.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/TM_007_03.pdf (accessed on 2 3216March 2025). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 3217 3218<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3219140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Minority 3220Rights Group International, From Crisis to Catastrophe: The Situation of 3221Minorities in Iraq Minority Rights Group International, October 2014, 3222https://minorityrights.org/app/uploads/2023/12/download-1468-from-crisis-to-catastrophe-the-situation-of-minorities-in-iraq-english.pdf 3223(accessed on 2 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3224 3225<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3226140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Mufti, 3227N., 'Iraq's Turkmen on their own' Al-<span class=SpellE>Usbu'iya</span> 3228Al-Arabiya, 2 October 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 3229 3230<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3231140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>_________, 3232'Iraq's Tuz Khurmatu: A town rich in history and conflict' Al-<span 3233class=SpellE>Usbu'iya</span> Al-Arabiya, 26 November 2017. <o:p></o:p></span></p> 3234 3235<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3236140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Nakip, 3237M., <span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>كركوك وهويتها 3238القومية والثقافية</span><span 3239dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span> (Kirkuk and its National and Cultural 3240Identity) Istanbul: <span class=SpellE>Yaylacik</span> Printing Ltd., 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3241 3242<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3243140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Newton, 3244M. A., 'The <span class=SpellE>Afal</span> Genocide: Personal Reflections and 3245Legal Residue' Vanderbilt journal of transnational Law Vol.40, Issue 5, 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3246 3247<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3248140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Paley, 3249A. R., 'Strip of Iraq' on the Verge of Exploding' Washington Post Foreign 3250Service, 13 September 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3251 3252<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3253140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Principal 3254bureau of statistics, Statistical abstract 1958 Baghdad: Zahra Press / Ministry 3255of Economics, Republic of Iraq, 1959.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3256 3257<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3258140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Rich, 3259C. J., Narrative of a residence in <span class=SpellE>Koordistan</span>: and on 3260the site of ancient Nineveh; with journal of a voyage down the Tigris to Bagdad 3261and an account of a visit to <span class=SpellE>Shirauz</span> and Persepolis Farnborough 3262UK: Gregg International, two Volumes, 1972.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3263 3264<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3265140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3266font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Rudaw</span></span><span style='font-size: 326716.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, 'Tens of thousands 3268of Kurds from Tuz Khurmatu unsure their return' <span class=SpellE>Rudaw</span> 3269Media Network, 30 October 2017; www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/301020175 3270(accessed on 22 April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3271 3272<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3273140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3274font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Ruwaih</span></span><span style='font-size: 327516.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>, A., '<span 3276lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>طوزخورماتو 3277تنادي من كربلاء... 3278هل من ناصر ينصرنا؟
3278</span><span 3279dir=LTR></span><span dir=LTR></span> (Tuz Khurmatu is calling... Is there a 3280helper to help us?)' <span class=SpellE>Shabakat</span> <span class=SpellE>Annabaa</span>, 32812013; https://annabaa.org/nbanews/2013/12/086.htm (accessed on 1 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3282 3283<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3284140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Saleh, 3285A. I., '<span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL>فيضان 3286١٩٥٤: فصل من تاريخ 3287بغداد الاجتماعي</span><span 3288dir=LTR></span><span lang=AR-SA><span dir=LTR></span> </span>(The 1954 Flood: A 3289Chapter from the Social History of Baghdad)' Diyala Magazine Issue 44, 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3290 3291<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3292140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Shah, 3293T. S., 'Iraq: Making Ethnic Peace After Saddam: A Conversation with Kanan 3294Makiya and Patrick Clawson' Center for Ethics and Public Policy No.18, March 32952003; https://eppc.org/docLib/20030728_CenterConversation22.pdf (accessed on 12 3296June 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3297 3298<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3299140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Skelton, 3300M. & Z.A. Salim, Iraq's disputed internal boundaries after ISIS: 3301heterogeneous actors vying for influence London School of Economics and 3302Political Science-Middle East Centre Report, February 2019, 3303https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/100100/3/DIBsReport.pdf (accessed 2 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3304 3305<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3306140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Smith, 3307C. M. I. & V. <span class=SpellE>Shadravian</span>, Wilting in the Kurdish 3308Sun: The Hopes and Fears of Religious Minorities in Northern Iraq United States 3309Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3310 3311<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3312140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>SOITM 3313Foundation, A Reason of the Terror in the Occupied Iraq A report of the Iraqi 3314Turkmen Human Rights Research Foundation (SOITM), 13 March 2006; 3315www.turkmen.nl/1A_soitm/Rep.16-C1306.pdf (accessed on 12 June 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3316 3317<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3318140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>__________________, 3319Turkey's Iraqi Turkmen Policy: Merciless Exploitation and Violation of 3320International Law Nijmegen: Benda Press / Publications of the Iraqi Turkmen 3321Human Rights Research Foundation (SOITM), 2019; 3322www.turkmen.nl/1A_soitm/BIIA.pdf (accessed on 1 March 2025). <o:p></o:p></span></p> 3323 3324<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3325140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>United 3326Nations Development <span class=SpellE>Programme</span>, Local area development 3327program in Iraq: Provincial response plan, Diyala governorate Financed by the 3328European Union, Implemented by United Nations Development <span class=SpellE>Programme</span> 3329(UNDP), 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3330 3331<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3332140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Unrepresented 3333Nations and Peoples <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span>, The Kurdish 3334Genocide: Achieving Justice through EU Recognition Unrepresented Nations and 3335Peoples <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> (UNPO) 25th anniversary of the 3336Halabja massacre, 6 March <span class=GramE>2013;</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> 3337 3338<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3339140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/d-iq/dv/03_kurdishgenocidesofanfalandhalabja_/03_kurdishgenocidesofanfalandhalabja_en.pdf 3340(accessed on 2 March 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3341 3342<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3343140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>________________________________________________, 3344The Iraqi Turkmen: Unveiling Repression in Iraq Conference Report prepared by 3345the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples <span class=SpellE>Organisation</span> 3346(UNPO), September 2013; https://unpo.org/downloads/765.pdf (accessed on 23 3347April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3348 3349<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3350140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Van 3351<span class=SpellE>Bruinessen</span>, M., 'Iraq: Kurdish challenges', in: 3352Walter <span class=SpellE>Poesch</span> (ed.), Looking into Iraq Paris: 3353Institute for Security Studies, European Union, 2005, pp.45-72.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3354 3355<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3356140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Yazdi, 3357S. A., The History of Timur-Bec: Known by the Name of <span class=SpellE>Tamerlain</span> 3358the Great, Emperor of the Moguls and Tartars: Being an Historical Journal of 3359His Conquests in Asia and Europe Volume II London/Bartholomew Close: J. Darby,
33601723.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3361 3362<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3363140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Yildirim, 3364O., 'The Mosul Strategy of Lord Curzon' Journal of Atatürk and the History of 3365Turkish Republic Vol.1/2, Winter 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3366 3367<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3368140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Zoom 3369News, 'Kurds in Tuz Khurmatu brace for general census amid concerns over 3370population representation' Zoom News, 11 November 2024; 3371https://zoomnews.info/en/50419/ (accessed on 22 April 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3372 3373<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3374140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Zurutuza, 3375C., 'Imprisoning Themselves to Stay Safe' Inter Press Service, 22 April 2014, 3376https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/imprisoning-themselves-stay-safe (website 3377accessed on 12 June 2025).<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3378 3379<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3380140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 3381 3382<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3383140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 3384 3385<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3386140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>NB: 3387do you have any comments on Sheth <span class=SpellE>Jerjis</span> article? 3388Please send these to [email protected] or by <span class=SpellE>contactform</span> 3389at www.ethnogeopolitics.org. To reiterate, we at the Editorial Board state in 3390our 'Call and Guidelines for Contributions' in every issue and volume of our 3391journal that any controversial a/o contestable article published here "does not 3392necessarily mean that we approve of everything that these contributors may say. 3393The contributors themselves are responsible and accountable for their statements"âeven 3394if any of them happen to be editors of our journal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3395 3396<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3397140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 3398 3399<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3400140%'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Appendices<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 3401 3402<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3403140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>Appendix 34041<span style='mso-tab-count:1'>        </span>Decision of the Revolutionary 3405Command Council in its session held on March 31, 1975, regarding expropriation 3406of lands in Kirkuk Governorate <o:p></o:p></span></p> 3407 3408<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3409140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3410font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 3411 3412 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app-1.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 3413 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app-1.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="1300pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 3414 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 3415 3416 3417<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3418 3419<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3420140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 3421 3422<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3423140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 3424 3425Appendix 2<span style='mso-tab-count:1'></span> 3426 3427 3428A list of some of the thousands of terrorist attacks against Turkmen in the city of Tuz Khurmatu, targeting
3429Turkmen neighbourhoods, during the period from August 343022, 2003 to June 30, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3431 3432<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3433140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3434font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 3435 3436 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app-2-e.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 3437 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app-2-e.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="1300pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 3438 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 3439<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3440 3441<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3442140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 3443 3444<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3445140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 3446 3447 3448Appendix 3 List of documented killings, 3449kidnappings, and assassinations of Turkmen citizens in Tuz Khurmatu District2003 to 2009 (also undocumented cases)<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3450 3451<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3452140%'><span class=SpellE><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%; 3453font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 3454 3455 3456 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app3e1.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 3457 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app3e1.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="1300pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 3458 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 3459<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3460 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app3e2.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 3461 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app3e2.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="1300pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 3462 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 3463<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3464 <a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app3e3.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 3465 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/Tuz-app3e3.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="1300pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 3466 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 3467<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3468 3469<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3470 3471<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3472140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 3473 3474<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3475140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 3476 3477<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3478140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>(Advertisement)<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3479 3480<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;text-align:justify;line-height: 3481140%'><span style='font-size:16.0pt;line-height:140%;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> 3482 3483 3484<a href="JavaScript:popup('http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/bookIIe.jpg',800,600)" TARGET="_parent"> 3485 <img src="http://www.turkmen.nl/photo/bookIIe.jpg" alt="" style="margin-left:0px;border:0pt solid #cccccc;" width="1000pt" height="1400pt" hspace="0" border="0" align="center"> 3486 </span></a></span><span dir=LTR style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:170%;font-family:"Simplified Arabic",serif; mso-bidi-language:AR-IQ'><o:p></o:p></span><br> 3487<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3488 3489 3490<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3491 3492</div> 3493 3494 3495 </TH></TR></TABLE> 3496 3497 3498 3499 3500 3501 3502 3503 3504 3505 3506 3507 3508 3509 3510 3511 3512 3513 3514 3515 3516 3517 3518 3519 3520 3521 3522 3523 3524 3525 3526 3527 3528 3529 3530 3531 3532 3533 3534 3535 3536 3537 3538 3539 3540 3541 3542 3543 <!--end of containing EIGHTH div--> 3544 </td></tr><tr> 3545 <td align="center" width="100%" colspan="2" valign="top" style=" 3546 align: center; 3547 border-left: 1pt solid #21610B; 3548 border-right: 1pt solid #21610B; 3549 border-bottom: 0pt solid #21610B; 3550 border-top: 0pt solid #f1Fff5; 3551 background: #259A9A;"> 3552 3553<table width="90%" border="0" bordercolorlight="lightyellow"> 3554<tbody><tr> 3555<td style="border: 0pt #F0FDFD;"><a href="http://www.turkmen.nl/1.3rds/3rdsC1.html"><span style="line-height:140%;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">About SOITM 3556</span></a></td> 3557<td style="border: 0pt #F0FDFD;"><a href="http://www.turkmen.nl/1.3rds/3rdsC2.html"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Contact 3558</span></a></td> 3559<td style="border: 0pt #F0FDFD;"><a href="http://www.turkmen.nl/1A_soitm/links.html"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff"> Links 3560</span></a></td> 3561<td style="border: 0pt #F0FDFD;"><a href="https://www.turkmenelitv.com/"> <span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Turkmeneli TV 3562</span></a></td> 3563<td style="border: 0pt #F0FDFD;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbDtmAb7N-5FUsYFVmyfp1A"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff">Al-Turkmaniya TV 3564</span></a></td> 3565<td style="border: 0pt #F0FDFD;"><a href="https://turkmen.nl/index75a.html"> <span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#ffffff"> أرشيف 3566مجلة تركمان 3567العراق 3568</span></a></td> 3569<td style="border: 0pt solid linen;"><a href="http://turkmen.nl/-----"> <span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:#A9F5F2">---- 3570</span></a> 3571</td></tr></tbody></table> 3572 3573 3574 3575 </td></tr><tr> 3576 <td width="100%" colspan="2" valign="top" style=" 3577 border: 0pt solid #660566; 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3584mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> 3585<!--[if !supportLists]--> 3586<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-family:Symbol;color:#336699;mso-bidi-font-weight:"> 3587<span style="mso-list:Ignore"> 3588<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> 3589</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span> 3590<a href="http://www.turkmen.nl/1A_soitm/contact.html"> 3591<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;"> 3592SOITM 3593<br><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:navy"> 3594Stichting Onderzoekscentrum Iraaks Turkmeense Mensenrechten 3595</b></span></b></a><br> 3596 3597<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:verdana;color:navy"> 3598 3599Nijmegen - The Netherlands 3600<br> 3601[email protected] 3602<o:p></o:p></span></p> 3603 3604 3605 3606 3607 <!--end of containing NINTH div--> 3608 3609 3610 3611</td></tr></tbody></table> 3612 3613</center></body></html>
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