Iraq: Supplementary information to Amnesty International's 28 February 1995 report on the human rights situation in Iraqi Kurdistan

The February 1995 Amnesty International report entitled Iraq: Human Rights Abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991[1]1 provides a detailed account of the human rights situation in the Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq through to the end of 1994. It supplies background information on conditions and developments in Iraqi Kurdistan, including the establishment of Kurdish self-rule in 1991, Kurdish political parties and leaders, and the 1992 elections. The report also contains chapters on law enforcement and the judiciary, details the current state of virtual civil war in Iraqi Kurdistan, and reviews human rights abuses by both the Kurdish administration and political parties. This extended Response will update the Amnesty International report by reviewing significant 1995 developments in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Establishment of the Kurdish "Safe Haven" in Northern Iraq

        Following the end of the Gulf war and a failed Kurdish insurrection in northern Iraq, a Kurdish enclave or "safe haven" was established in 1991, largely in response to the desperate conditions of Iraqi refugees massed in refugee camps along the Turkish and Iranian borders (AI 28 Feb. 1995, 7; ibid. Mar.-Apr. 1995, 4; Third World Quarterly 1993, 295; Middle East Report Mar.-June 1994, 41). Alleged brutalities committed by the advancing Iraqi army had forced some two million people, mostly Kurds, to flee to Turkey and Iran (ibid.; AI 28 Feb. 1995, 7). The Kurdish "safe-haven" would be protected by deploying American, French and English aircraft based at Incirlik air base in Turkey to enforce a no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel in Iraq (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995, 4; Reuters 12 Sept. 1995). As Amnesty International reports,

on 5 April [1991] the UN Security Council adopted resolution 688, calling on Iraq to end "the repression of the Iraqi civilian population." ... In mid-April "Operation Provide Comfort" was launched by the allied forces ..., followed by the establishment of a "safe haven" zone in Iraqi Kurdistan stretching between Zakho, Duhok and Amadiyya. An "air exclusion zone" was imposed on 19 April (28 Feb. 1995, 7; see also Libération 21 Apr. 1995, 10).

The government of Iraq withdrew its troops from "most of the Kurdish region" on 23 October 1991, but the strategically important, oil rich city of Kirkuk remained under Iraqi government control (AI 28 Feb. 1995, 8; Reuters 25 Aug. 1995). According to Middle East Report, in late 1991 the Iraqi government "ceased paying salaries to state employees" in Kurdish-held regions, withdrew Arab officials and "reduced food rations and fuel shipments to 25 percent of the pre-war level. In July 1992 food rations to the Kurdish area were stopped completely" (Mar.-June 1994, 43; ibid. Mar.-Apr. 1995, 4; New Statesman and Society 23 Sept. 1994, 19). The de facto Kurdish state that emerged after 1991 remains in place in 1995.

Baghdad's 1992 embargo has meant that Kurds in northern Iraq have been living under a double embargo, as the 1990 UN embargo against Iraq included and continues to include the northern Kurdish governorates (Libération 8 Sept. 1995, 12; AI 28 Feb. 1995, 8; Middle East Report Mar.-June 1994, 43; New Statesman and Society 23 Sept. 1994, 19; Council of Europe 1994, 1). A 1994 article in Freedom Review describes the conditions this double embargo has created in Iraqi Kurdistan:

Seven out of ten [people] ... of working age are unemployed. Inflation is running at 100 percent annually, shortages are chronic and public infrastructure is in pitiable condition. Gasoline can cost the equivalent of twenty dollars a gallon and be hard to get even at that price. The roads are pot-holed, the telephones don't work and electrical outages are frequent. The several hundred thousand people of the city of Dahuk ... [had their] electricity ... cut off by the Baghdad regime in August of last year (May-June 1994, 16).

According to one source, "at times it seemed as if UN and NGO food rations were all that sustained the Kurdish economy" (Middle East Report Mar.-June 1994, 43).

In 1995 the Kurds controlled approximately 75,000 square kilometres of northern Iraq2 (Libération 21 Apr. 1995; AFP 17 Jan. 1995; The Middle East Nov. 1995, 6), including the governorates and cities of Dohuk, Arbil (Erbil), Sulaimaniya and Zakho (ibid.; USAID 15 Aug. 1995, 1). The total population of Iraqi Kurdistan is about 3.5-4 million (ibid.; Libération 21 Apr. 1995, 10; MEI 2 Dec. 1994, 13), and the population of Arbil, the capital, is 1.2 million (The Middle East Nov. 1995, 6; Libération 8 Sept. 1995, 12).

May 1992 Elections

        The two leading Iraqi-Kurdish parties—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Masud Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Jalal Talabani—each received an almost equal number of votes in the May 1992 parliamentary elections held in Iraqi Kurdistan (Third World Quarterly 1993, 297, 299; Dialogue Sept. 1994, 2; New Statesman and Society 23 Sept. 1994, 18). Some observers note that while the 50:50 power-sharing agreement reached after the vote may have averted conflict between the PUK and KDP, it has "paralysed the parliamentary decision-making process. For virtually every PUK political appointment, right down to minor officials, there is a KDP deputy and vice versa" (ibid.; Dialogue Sept. 1994, 2; MEI 27 May 1994, 18).

KDP—PUK Conflict

        Internecine fighting between the KDP and PUK broke out in May 1994, reportedly the result of disputes over tax revenues and territorial control (MEI 27 May 1994, 18; ibid. 28 Apr. 1995, 17; The Guardian Weekly 13 Aug. 1995, 14; MidEast Mirror 19 Sept. 1995, 14; Dialogue Sept. 1994, 2). The two warring parties were able to recruit peshmerga, or Kurdish warriors, by capitalizing on the tribal nature of the Kurds and utilizing an extensive system of patronage (ibid.; MEI 28 Apr. 1995, 18; Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 8). Fighting between the two groups had claimed over 2,000 lives by late 1995 (The Middle East Nov. 1995, 8; IPS 20 Sept. 1995; MidEast Mirror 19 Sept. 1995, 14).

The primary or direct causes of the conflict are reported as being "KDP 'confiscation' of customs levies collected at the border with Turkey, KPU [sic] 'monopolisation' of the assets of certain ministries and customs levies at the Iranian border, a dispute over the ownership of a plot of land, and the fate of Arbil" (The Guardian Weekly 13 Aug. 1995, 14; MEI 20 Jan. 1995a, 5; MidEast Mirror 17 May 1995). Other underlying factors, including a 30-year rivalry between the two principal leaders and a "longstanding mutual prejudice between KDP and PUK rank-and-file" (MEI 28 Apr. 1995, 18), have also contributed to the conflict (ibid.; The Guardian Weekly 13 Aug. 1995, 14; The Middle East Nov. 1995, 8; New Statesman and Society 23 Sept. 1994, 18). According to one source, "the lack of trust between Barzani and Talabani ... has dogged ... peace efforts" (MEI 22 Sept. 1995b, 9).

Foreign nations have also contributed to the escalation of the conflict; both Turkey and Iran have significant Kurdish minorities of their own, and thus have vested interests in the outcome of the KDP-PUK struggle (The Guardian Weekly 13 Aug. 1995, 14; MEI 27 May 1994, 19; MidEast Mirror 10 Apr. 1995, 14; see also The Middle East Nov. 1995, 10). According to a report in The Guardian Weekly, Iran is seeking to restore the influence it had in Iraqi Kurdistan before the 1991 establishment of the safe haven, while

Turkey fears that an Iraqi Kurdish self-management project could ultimately become an embryonic state and incite its own Kurdish minority to agitate for independence. Conversely, the quarrel between the KPU [sic] and the KDP seems to be just as dangerous because it gives more scope for manoeuvre to Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).... Ankara is, therefore, urging the Iraqi Kurds to become reconciled with Baghdad and seek a solution for their problems within the framework of a united Iraq (13 Aug. 1995, 14).

The conflict has effectively divided Iraqi Kurdistan into two separate regions, with the KDP controlling the north and the Iraqi-Turkish border, and the PUK in control of the south and the Iranian border (IPS 20 Sept. 1995; Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 8; AFP 23 Apr. 1995). This political division of Iraqi Kurdistan is augmented by an accompanying linguistic division: most Kurds in the south speak Sorani, while Kurmanji is the principal language in the north (MEI 28 Apr. 1995, 18; IPS 20 Sept. 1995).

Human rights abuses, including the execution and mutilation of prisoners, and the abduction, torture and killing of civilians "on account of their political affiliations," have been attributed to the KDP, PUK and the Islamic Movement in Iraqi Kurdistan (IMIK3) since 1993 (AI 28 Feb. 1995, 5; ibid. 1995, 169; HRW Dec. 1994, 280). Amnesty International's February 1995 report on Iraqi Kurdistan, which contrasts the promising measures adopted after the establishment of Kurdish rule in 1991 with the "significant deterioration in the human rights situation" after May 1994, states:

it is an outrage that the Kurds—having suffered gross human rights violations for so long at the hands of Iraqi Government forces—should once again have to endure such abuses, only this time at the hands of their own political leaders (28 Feb. 1995, 5).

1995 Developments—Continuation of KDP-PUK Conflict

        An August 1994 cease-fire between the KDP and PUK ended when a new round of fighting, apparently the result of "differences on how to solve the area's financial problems," erupted on 23 or 24 December 1994 (UPI 5 Jan. 1995; Reuters 26 Dec. 1994; Middle East Times 1-7 Jan. 1995, 3; MEI 20 Jan. 1995a, 5). While one source reports that fighting centred in the regions of Sulaimaniya, Rawanduz and Arbil (AFP 26 Dec. 1994), other reports indicate that most clashes occurred "in and around Arbil" (UPI 5 Jan. 1995; Middle East Times 22-28 Jan. 1995, 3; Reuters 26 Dec. 1994). Middle East International states that the fighting broke out in the city of Shaqlawa and later spread to Arbil (20 Jan. 1995b, 15).

By mid to late January 1995 this latest round of fighting had resulted in as many as 100-500 deaths (AFP 17 Jan. 1995; MEI 17 Feb. 1995, 15; Middle East Times 22-28 Jan. 1995, 3). Two reports indicate that about 500 people had been killed in Arbil alone by 2 or 3 January (ibid. 8-14 Jan. 1995, 3; MEI 17 Feb. 1995, 15). The fighting reportedly created shortages of food and medicine in Arbil, Halabja and Sulaimaniya, with some civilians fleeing Arbil in order to escape the conflict (AFP 23 Jan. 1995; ibid. 24 Jan. 1995; Iraqi News Agency 14 Jan. 1995; Middle East Times 8-14 Jan. 1995, 3). By 4 January PUK forces had gained control of Arbil, but the fighting continued, reportedly due in part to KDP demands that PUK forces immediately withdraw from the city (Middle East Times 22-28 Jan. 1995, 3; AFP 23 Apr. 1995).

Intermittent fighting between KDP and PUK forces continued throughout February and March 1995 (MEI 17 Mar. 1995, 15; ibid. 14 Apr. 1995, 15). Regions and towns affected by the fighting included Arbil, Sulaimaniya, Qala Diza, Ranya, Rawanduz and Shaqlawa (AFP 7 Feb. 1995; MEI 17 Mar. 1995, 15). A car bomb exploded in the city of Zakho on 27 February, killing 80 people and wounding 200 (ibid.).

An April 1995 cease-fire was negotiated and implemented with the help of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), an umbrella organization of Iraqi opposition groups based in northern Iraq (AFP 23 Apr. 1995; UPI 31 Oct. 1995). The INC is composed of a variety of Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis, Shi'is and others unified in their opposition to Saddam Hussein and his government (ibid.; ibid. 5 Jan. 1995; ibid. Sept. 12 1995; Reuters 31 Oct. 1995). Although the April cease-fire remained in effect until July, sources indicate that "the two factions have failed to resolve their bloody power struggle; ... the main obstacle to agreement remains Arbil" (AFP 23 Apr. 1995; MEI 21 July 1995, 13). KDP officials have stated that they will not negotiate until PUK forces leave Arbil "unconditionally" (AFP 23 Apr. 1995).

Renewed fighting broke out 9 July 1995, and continued throughout the month (MEI 22 Sept. 1995a, 16; ibid. 21 July 1995, 13; Libération 25 July 1995, 7). Most of the fighting was centred around Arbil, although one report states that it was spread across northern Iraq (MEI 22 Sept. 1995a, 16). Other towns where fighting or disturbances were reported include Rawanduz, Qasri, Sulaimaniya, Halabja and Shaqlawa (Iraqi Television 11 July 1995; IRNA 23 July 1995; MEI 22 Sept. 1995a, 16). According to one source, "each side claimed to have made important advances at the other's expense and killed scores of its fighters" (MEI 21 July 1995, 13).

During 1995 both Baghdad and Tehran, seeking to gain further influence in the region, offered to help negotiate a peace agreement in Iraqi Kurdistan (MidEast Mirror 26 June 1995, 20; ibid. 19 July 1995, 18; ibid. 21 Sept. 1995, 8; The Guardian Weekly 30 July 1995, 4; ibid. 13 Aug. 1995, 14). The overtures from Tehran and Baghdad prompted the United States to sponsor its own series of peace negotiations with the two warring parties (ibid.; ibid. 30 July 1995, 4; MidEast Mirror 30 June 1995, 12; ibid. 24 July 1995, 12). The US arrangements saw PUK and KDP officials meet for peace talks in Drogheda, Ireland, in mid-August (MEI 4 Aug. 1995, 12; ibid. 22 Sept. 1995b, 8; The Middle East Nov. 1995, 9). Representatives of Turkey were also involved in the negotiations (MidEast Mirror 19 Sept. 1995, 13). The talks resulted in an immediate cease-fire (AFP 12 Aug. 1995; MEI 20 Oct. 1995b, 14), and according to reports from late September 1995, the "occasional assassination attempts notwithstanding," it has remained in effect (ibid. 22 Sept. 1995b, 9; IPS 20 Sept. 1995).

A pledge to bring a "permanent halt to the conflict in the autonomous territory" was also drafted during the August negotiations (MEI 20 Oct. 1995b, 14). This agreement provided for the "demilitarisation of the PUK stronghold of Erbil, supervised by observers, followed by the deposit of all the customs revenues collected by KDP at Ibrahim Khalili, near Zakho ..., into bank accounts in the name of the Kurdish government" (The Middle East Nov. 1995, 9; MEI 22 Sept. 1995b, 8). An INC-supervised commission would oversee the arrangements (ibid.; The Middle East Nov. 1995, 9).

Follow up talks held in Dublin on 12-15 September were intended to "build on the outline agreement signed in Drogheda" (MEI 22 Sept. 1995b, 8; AFP 16 Sept. 1995; IPS 20 Sept. 1995). However, the PUK insisted that the demilitarization of Arbil and transfer of tax revenues occur simultaneously (MEI 22 Sept. 1995b, 8), while the KDP refused to transfer any money until a new regional government had been established in Arbil (ibid.). Talabani and Barzani were to endorse a final agreement on 25 September 1995, but that meeting has been postponed indefinitely (The Middle East Nov. 1995, 9).

KDP and PUK leaders met separately with Iranian representatives in September, shortly after the "failure of U.S.-sponsored peace talks" (MidEast Mirror 21 Sept. 1995, 8). A recent issue of Foreign Report indicates that the Iranian-sponsored negotiations made significant progress: after meeting in Tehran in the first week of October, the "warring parties claimed they had agreed on key issues and that parliamentary elections should be held next May" (16 Nov. 1995, 5).

Turkish Army Invasions

        Turkish military forces twice crossed the border into northern Iraq in the first eight months of 1995 (USAID 15 Aug. 1995, 1). The largest operation began on 20 March 1995, when 35,000 Turkish troops penetrated up to 40 kilometres into Kurd-controlled regions of northern Iraq in order to eliminate Partia Karkaren Kurdistan (PKK)4 bases; as many as 3,000 PKK members were based in the region prior to the invasion (Turkish Daily News 29 Apr. 1995; Keesing's Mar. 1995, 40473; MEI 14 Apr. 1995, 15; The Economist 25 Mar. 1995, 58). By 4 May 1995 all 35,000 Turkish troops had been withdrawn (Keesing's May 1995, 40563; MEI 12 May 1995, 12), just two days after Turkish President Demirel had suggested the Turkish-Iraqi border should be adjusted to "stop rebel Kurds infiltrating into Turkey from the mountains of northern Iraq" (Middle East Times 7-13 May 1995, 3; MidEast Mirror 4 May 1995, 14; ibid. 10 May 1995, 17). Libération reports that 24 civilians were killed, 51 villages or hamlets depopulated and 15,300 civilians displaced during the incursion (21 Apr. 1995, 10; see also AFP 22 Apr. 1995).

Turkish troops reentered northern Iraq on 5 July 1995, reportedly "in self-defense against [PKK] terrorists" and without informing the Iraqi Kurds (Middle East Times 16-22 July 1995, 5). Four Iraqi Kurd civilians were reportedly killed during the operation (AFP 11 July 1995), which ended when Turkish troops pulled out on 12 July 1995 (Middle East Times 16-22 July 1995, 5). As many as 700 Kurdish families were displaced by the fighting (AFP 11 July 1995; Reuters 11 July 1995).

However, one source suggests the Turks never completely pulled out of northern Iraq (The Middle East Nov. 1995, 7). According to an Iraqi Kurd quoted in The Middle East, the lights of Turkish army units can still be seen on the Iraqi side of the border, in the foothills near Zakho (ibid.). "The withdrawal of the Turkish army to the north of the international border between Iraq and Turkey, after its last intervention in Iraqi Kurdistan in July, is a fiction," the magazine contends, and further states that "the Turks enjoy such impunity that, at the end of August, their artillery was able to shell the village of Basuja, situated less than two kilometres from the international border post" (ibid. 8).

PKK-KDP Conflict

        On 25 or 26 August 1995, PKK guerrillas attacked KDP bases in the Duhok and Zakho regions of Iraq, near the Turkish border (MEI 20 Oct. 1995b, 14; AFP 27 Aug. 1995; Libération 8 Sept. 1995, 12; The Middle East Nov. 1995, 10; ibid. Oct. 1995, 9). The PKK justified the attack by accusing the KDP of cooperating with the Turkish army in recent anti-PKK military operations (ibid.), but sources agree that both the PKK and Syria5 also wanted to derail the ongoing KDP-PUK peace negotiations, at least partly because neither group wants to see heightened American or Turkish influence in the region (ibid. 10; AFP 27 Aug. 1995; ibid. 25 Sept. 1995; Foreign Report 12 Oct. 1995, 3; MidEast Mirror 21 Sept. 1995, 8-9; ibid. 19 Sept. 1995, 14). Other sources suggest that ongoing KDP-PUK conflict in Iraqi Kurdistan "creates a power vacuum and enables the [PKK] to make more efficient use of the area in its campaign against the Turkish government" (IPS 20 Sept. 1995; Reuters 12 Sept. 1995; AFP 25 Sept. 1995). In September and October KDP officials stated that they had driven the PKK guerrillas out of the border region (ibid.; ibid. 23 Oct. 1995; Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan 27 Sept. 1995). One source reported that at least seven civilians were killed during the August clashes (Reuters 28 Aug. 1995).

Situation of Civilian Population

        Reports from 1995 indicate that as many as 1.25 million people in northern Iraq are dependent on humanitarian assistance, including food rations and medicine (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 7; USAID 15 Aug. 1995, 1; see also Dialogue Jan. 1995, 7; Middle East Report Mar.-June 1994, 43). Humanitarian relief efforts have been hampered and levels of aid supplied to the Kurdish regions have decreased as a result of the May 1994 KDP-PUK conflict the 1995 Turkish incursions into Iraqi Kurdistan (Dialogue Jan. 1995, 7; USAID 15 Aug. 1995, 2-3; Libération 21 Apr. 1995, 10). Declining funds have also inhibited the work of humanitarian organizations (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 7). These circumstances compound the already severe economic conditions precipitated by the double UN and Baghdad embargoes imposed on the region (ibid.).

In early February 1995, quoting the Iranian news agency IRNA, AFP reported that the fighting had created a "severe economic and social crisis" in northern Iraq (7 Feb. 1995). The Middle East Times reported in early January 1995 that UN aid deliveries had been forced to stop due to the recent surge in fighting (1-7 Jan. 1995, 3). AFP reported that the fighting had forced the "closure of schools and administrative offices run by the two rival groups. Drinking water and electricity were both in short supply and looting was on the rise" (7 Feb. 1995). Employees of humanitarian organizations have been held hostage and fired upon in 1995 (AFP 16 Sept. 1995). According to USAID, the geographic division of northern Iraq between the two principal protagonists has made it difficult to transport relief supplies (15 Aug. 1995, 3). Instability in September 1995 resulted in the UN restricting the movements of humanitarian groups, leading to "serious delays" in providing food (AFP 16 Sept. 1995). However, one report maintains that despite the double embargo and declining humanitarian aid, "relatively speaking, Kurdistan is today much better off economically than the government-controlled region" of Iraq (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 7).

An August 1995 USAID report indicates that there are approximately 650,000 displaced persons in northern Iraq, and that 230,000 of the displaced persons are "unable to return to their place of origin for fear of retribution" (15 Aug. 1995, 1). The displaced include those who have fled from Iran, from the insecure border areas with Turkey and Iran, and from nearby towns still under Iraqi government control (ibid.). However, a 1994 Council of Europe report indicates that "somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 displaced Iraqi Kurds and others ... are unable or unwilling, for fear of victimisation, to return to their homes in places now under Iraqi Government control (mainly from the Kirkuk area)" (1994, 7). According to Country Reports 1994, "several hundred thousand Kurds remain unsettled in northern Iraq because political circumstances do not permit them to return to their former homes in Government-controlled territory" (1995, 1092). In October 1995 the INC reportedly estimated that at least 10 Iraqis flee to the northern enclave every day (Sunday Times 22 Oct. 1995).

Many of the approximately 15,000 Turkish Kurds seeking asylum in northern Iraq have been seriously affected by the conflicts in the region, particularly by the Turkish incursions into northern Iraq (Libération 21 Apr. 1995, 10; USAID 15 Aug. 1995, 1; Reuters 28 Aug. 1995). Following the 20 March 1995 Turkish invasions some 2,000-4,500 Turkish Kurds near the city of Zakho requested that they be relocated from the border area, and were subsequently evacuated to the Atrush refugee camp, some 100 kilometres south of Zakho (AFP 6 May 1995; UNHCR 20 Mar. 1995; Reuters 26 Mar. 1995; Libération 21 Apr. 1995). In September 1995 about 20,000 Turkish Kurds were housed in the two refugee camps at Atrush; many of these people reportedly live in fear of "reprisals by Turkish armed forces, PKK guerrillas and rebel Iraqi Kurds when fighting flares up" (Reuters 28 Aug. 1995; AFP 16 Sept. 1995; see also UNHCR 20 Mar. 1995). Libération reports that the refugees live without running drinking water or electricity, and that each refugee receives 9 kilograms of flour, 900 grams of lentils, 900 grams of oil and 300 grams of sugar monthly (21 Apr. 1995). According to the Turkish news agency Anatolia, the Turkish government is concerned that the camps at Atrush may be used by the PKK (17 Oct. 1995). A November 1995 Middle East International report states that the internal affairs of the Atrush camp "are controlled by a PKK-dominated committee" (17 Nov. 1995, 15). The report maintains that the KDP "plausibly believes that it [the camp] continues to shelter hundreds, if not thousands, of armed PKK militants (ibid.).

Unemployment remained a serious issue in northern Iraq in 1995 (The Middle East Nov. 1995, 6; Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 8). Many young men have few choices but to work for one of the militias or resort to smuggling, which has reportedly become a "main economic activity" (ibid.; Dialogue Jan. 1995, 7). According to one western observer employed by a foreign NGO in Iraqi Kurdistan,

the matter of staying in work is dependent on maintaining the "appropriate" political affiliations. ... "If you work as a clerk, a nurse ... or a schoolteacher in an area controlled by the KDP..., you have to be pro-KDP or lose your job. The same is true in PUK areas. Even taxi drivers working in Suleimania have to be loyal to the PUK.... It is impossible to be neutral or your name is deleted from food distribution lists, you lose your job, you are ruined" (The Middle East Nov. 1995, 7).

The same article reports that young Kurds in northern Iraq consider their country a "prison" and a "hopeless place" (ibid. 6). In the words of one young Kurd, "there is no rule of law here, the country is ruled by the people with the most impressive weapons" (ibid.).

Land-mines planted by the Iraqi military during the Iran-Iraq War, the Anfal6 campaign and the Gulf war continue to be a serious hazard to civilians in northern Iraq (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995b, 13; Council of Europe 1994, 11). While many of these mines have been cleared by humanitarian organizations, many remain, their precise numbers unrecorded and locations unmapped, and fatalities and injuries continue to occur (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995b, 13; MEW Oct. 1992, 1; see also USAID 15 Aug. 1995, 3; Council of Europe 1994, 11). Some 116 deaths and 417 injuries were reported in the Sulaimaniya and Arbil governorates alone in 1994, and authorities believe that half of all deaths and an even greater proportion of injuries go unreported (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995b, 13).

Travel Restrictions

        Because northern Iraq has been divided into KDP and PUK strongholds, numerous checkpoints have been established where officials examine identity papers and collect import and export duties (Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 8; AFP 23 Apr. 1995). These checkpoints impede free travel within northern Iraq (ibid.; see also Middle East Report Mar.-Apr. 1995a, 8). According to AFP,

Kurds have to cross six checkpoints manned by rival factions just to travel the 20 kilometres (13 miles) between the main town of Arbil and Salahuddin in the surrounding hills to the northeast. Each vehicle is scrupulously searched and all identity papers are checked. Lorry drivers even have to pay customs duties at least twice—once to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and again to its main rival the Kurdistan Democratic Party (ibid.).

On the subject of travel between northern Iraq and government-controlled areas of the country, Country Reports 1994 states that "the government controls movement within the country of citizens and foreigners. Persons who enter sensitive border areas and numerous designated security zones are subject to arrest. Police checkpoints are common on major roads and highways" (1995, 1091). The same report states that the government will not permit "tens of thousands of Kurds and Turcomans to return to their homes in Kirkuk and Mosul" (ibid. 1087).

Researcher David McDowall, an independent specialist on Kurdish affairs, indicates that travel between the northern enclave and government-controlled regions involves some risk (28 Nov. 1995). According to McDowall,

generally speaking, those Kurds whose papers are in order, and who have completed military service etc., may cross the line between Kurdish and government controlled areas. A certain amount of abuse may take place, and foodstuffs may be confiscated, but the crossing may be made. However, for anyone who has either deserted from the forces, or unilaterally left government service, crossing is much more risky. Some cross who have committed 'offenses' according to the regime, trusting to the inefficiency that now pervades the system that they will slip through the screening apparatus (ibid.).

A 1994 report prepared by the Gulf Information Project reports that skirmishes along the de facto border between Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi troops have contributed to the displacement of civilians in these regions (4). Iraqi troops reportedly attacked the small Kurdish village of Chamchamal in the northern enclave in August 1995 (Reuters 25 Aug. 1995). According to an Iraqi Kurdish spokesperson, quoted by Reuters, such attacks or assaults are not uncommon: "Chamchamal is near Kirkuk, where Iraqi troops are always based, and there are often such routine exchanges of fire" (ibid.).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 23 October 1995. "Iraqi Kurds Launch Offensive Against Turkish Kurd Rebels." (NEXIS)

_____. 25 September 1995. "PKK Guerrillas Driven from Iraqi Border Region: Iraqi Kurds." (NEXIS)

_____. 16 September 1995. Tolle Aram. "Conflict in North Iraq Hampers UN Aid Work for Refugees." (NEXIS)

_____. 27 August 1995. "Violents affrontements entre Kurdes irakiens et turcs dans le nord de l'Irak." (NEXIS)

_____. 12 August 1995. "Kurds Respecting Ceasefire in North Iraq." (NEXIS)

_____. 11 July 1995. "Clashes Leave 28 Dead in Northern Iraq." (NEXIS)

_____. 6 May 1995. Tolle Aram. "Refugee Camp Becomes Permanent Home for Turkish Kurds." (NEXIS)

_____. 23 April 1995. Tolle Aram. "Feuding Kurds Search for Peace in Northern Iraq." (NEXIS)

_____. 22 April 1995. Tolle Aram. "Turkish Incursion Turns Kurds into Refugees a Second Time." (NEXIS)

_____. 7 February 1995. "Kurdish Clashes Erupt Anew, Throw North Iraq into Turmoil: IRNA." (NEXIS)

_____. 24 January 1995. "Manifestation dans le Kurdistan contre la guerre inter-kurde: selon IRNA." (NEXIS)

_____. 23 January 1995. "Relief Worker Killed, Others Injured in Ambush in Northern Iraq: UN." (NEXIS)

_____. 17 January 1995. Habib Trabelsi. "Les rivalites et un environnement hostile ont attise la guerre inter-kurde." (NEXIS)

_____. 26 December 1994. "Soixante-dix tués dans des combats inter-kurdes dans le nord de l'Irak." (NEXIS)

Amnesty International (AI). 28 February 1995. Iraq: Human Rights Abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan Since 1991. (AI Index: MDE 14/01/95). London: Amnesty International.

_____. 1995. Amnesty International Report 1995. New York: Amnesty International USA.

Anatolia News Agency [Ankara, in English]. 17 October 1995. "Iraqi Kurdish Faction Says It Killed over 1,000 Kurdish Separatists from Turkey." (BBC Summary 19 Oct. 1995/NEXIS)

         Conflict Quarterly [London]. Spring 1991. Michael M. Gunter. "Transnational Sources of Support for the Kurdish Insurgency in Turkey."

Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly. 11 January 1994. Documents: Working Papers. Vol. 1. Report on the Humanitarian Situation and Needs of the Displaced Iraqi Kurdish Population. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

         Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

         Dialogue [London]. January 1995. Karen Dabrowska. "A Negative Outlook for Kurdistan."

_____. September 1994. Laith Kubba. "Who Wins in Kurdistan?"

         The Economist [London]. 25 March 1995. "Turks and Kurds: Bash, Then Talk?"

         Foreign Report [Surrey, UK]. 16 November 1995. "Syria Aids Turkish Terrorists."

_____. 12 October 1995. "The Next Middle East Flashpoint."

         Freedom Review [New York]. May-June 1994. Vol. 25, No. 3. David A. Korn. "Why Doesn't the U.S. Support ... Democracy for the Kurds?"

         The Guardian Weekly [London]. 13 August 1995. Vol. 153, No. 7. Mouna Maïm. "Kurds Caught in the Political Crossfire."

_____. 30 July 1995. Vol. 153, No. 6. David Hirst. "US Seeks to Heal Kurd Rift."

Gulf Information Project. 1994. "Information Pack." London: British Refugee Council.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). December 1994. Human Rights Watch World Report 1995. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Inter Press Service (IPS). 20 September 1995. Dilip Hiro. "N. Iraq-Kurds: Foreign Players Muddy Peace Initiative." (NEXIS)

Iraqi News Agency [Baghdad, in Arabic]. 14 January 1995. "Iraqi Agency Reports Breakdown of Kurdish Cease-Fire." (BBC Summary 17 Jan. 1995/NEXIS)

Iraqi Television [Baghdad, in Arabic]. 11 July 1995. "Inter-Kurdish Fighting: Iraqi TV: Inhabitants of Arbil Flee as Inter-Kurdish Clashes Intensify." (BBC Summary 13 July 1995/NEXIS)

         The Irish Times [Dublin]. 29 March 1995. City Edition. David Sholdice. "Abdullah Ocalan." (NEXIS)

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) [Tehran, in English]. 23 July 1995. "Inter-Kurdish Fighting; KDP Forces Reportedly Capture Qasri Region from PUK." (BBC Summary 25 July 1995/NEXIS)

         Jane's Intelligence Review [Amsterdam]. 1 April 1995. Vol. 7, No. 4. Christopher Panico. "Turkey's Kurdish Conflict." (WEB: [email protected])

         Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. May 1995. Vol. 41, No. 5. "Turkey: Withdrawal from Northern Iraq."

_____. March 1995. Vol. 41, No. 3. "Turkey: Anti-Kurdish Offensive."

         Libération [Paris]. 8 September 1995. Musa Akdemir. "Le rêve évanoui d'un Etat kurde au nord de l'Irak."

_____. 25 July 1995. "En Irak, les combats interkurdes ont fait plus de 200 morts."

_____. 21 April 1995. Musa Akdemir. "Le sort des Kurdes d'Irak inquiète les organisations humanitaires."

McDowall, David. Richmond: United Kingdom. 28 November 1995. Fax received by the DIRB.

         The Middle East [London]. November 1995. No. 250. Chris Kutschera. "Kurds in Crisis."

_____. October 1995. No. 249. "Safe Haven Skirmishes."

         Middle East International (MEI) [London]. 17 November 1995. No. 513. Hugh Pope. "Iraqi Kurdistan: Peace Talks Resume."

_____. 20 October 1995a. No. 511. Robert Olson. "The Spread of Kurdish Nationalism: A New Stage in Its Development."

____. 20 October 1995b. No. 511. "August Chronology."

_____. 22 September 1995a. No. 509. "July Chronology."

_____. 22 September 1995b. No. 509. Najm Jarrah. "Iraqi Kurdistan: Peace Talks Fail."

_____. 4 August 1995. No. 506. Najm Jarrah. "Iraqi Kurdistan: Pressured into Talks."

_____. 21 July 1995. No. 505. Najm Jarrah. "Iraqi Kurdistan: The Truce is Shattered."

_____. 12 May 1995. No. 500. Hugh Pope. "Turkey: Out of Iraq."

_____. 28 April 1995. No. 499. David McDowall. "The Struggle for Kurdistan: Iraq."

_____. 14 April 1995. No. 498. "March Chronology."

_____. 31 March 1995. No. 497. Nicole Pope. "The Turkish Invasion of Northern Iraq."

_____. 17 March 1995. No. 496. "February Chronology."

_____. 17 February 1995. No. 494. "January Chronology."

_____. 20 January 1995a. No. 492. Najm Jarrah. "Iraqi Kurdistan: Battle for Arbil."

_____. 20 January 1995b. No. 492. "December Chronology."

_____. 2 December 1994. No. 489. Hugh Pope. "Iraqi Kurdistan: Factions Make Peace."

_____. 27 May 1994. No. 476. David McDowall. "Dicing With Death: The KDP and PUK in Conflict."

         Middle East Report [Washington, DC]. March-April 1995a. Vol. 25, No. 2. Sarah Graham-Brown. "Intervention, Sovereignty and Responsibility."

_____. March-April 1995b. Vol. 25, No. 2. "Hidden Death."

_____. March-June 1994. Vol. 24, No. 2-3. Ronald Ofteringer and Ralf Bäcker. "A Republic of Statelessness: Three Years of Humanitarian Intervention in Iraqi Kurdistan."

         Middle East Times [Cairo]. 16-22 July 1995. "Turks Make More Incursions...."

_____. 7-13 May 1995. "Turkish President Calls for Moving Border with Iraq."

_____. 22-28 January 1995. Laurence Peter. "Kurds Fight While Saddam Talks."

_____. 15-21 January 1995. "Iraqi Kurds Agree Ceasefire."

_____. 8-14 January 1995. "Baghdad Reports Kurdish Clashes."

_____. 1-7 January 1995. "Civil War in Kurdish Iraq."

Middle East Watch (MEW). July 1993. Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds. New York: Human Rights Watch.

_____. October 1992. Hidden Death: Land Mines and Civilian Causalities in Iraqi Kurdistan. New York: Human Rights Watch.

         Middle Eastern Studies [London]. October 1994. Vol. 30, No. 4. Andrew Mango. "Turks and Kurds."

         MidEast Mirror [London]. 21 September 1995. Vol. 9, No. 182. "Iraqi Kurdish Chiefs Visit Iran After Failure of U.S.-Sponsored Peace Talks."

_____. 19 September 1995. Vol. 9, No. 180. "'Time Kurdish Leaders Ceased Serving as Surrogates'."

_____. 24 July 1995. Vol. 9, No. 140. "Washington Offers to Mediate Between Warring Iraqi Kurds."

_____. 19 July 1995. Vol. 9, No. 137. "Saddam's Envoy Meets Rival Iraqi Kurdish Leaders."

_____. 30 June 1995. Vol. 9, No. 124. "U.S. Frowns on Iranian Bid to Mediate Between Iraqi Kurds."

_____. 26 June 1995. Vol. 9, No. 120. "Iran Resumes Mediation Between Iraqi Kurdish Rivals."

_____. 17 May 1995. Vol. 9, No. 93. "Iraqi Kurdish Rivals Blame Each Other for Collapse of Truce."

_____. 10 May 1995. Vol. 9, No. 88. "Demirel Says it Again: The Iraqi Border Needs Changing."

_____. 4 May 1995. Vol. 9, No. 85. "Arabs Alarmed by Demirel's Call for Redrawing the Iraq-Turkey Border."

_____. 10 April 1995. Vol. 9, No. 69. "Turkey and Iran Both Seeking to Reconcile Iraqi Kurdish Rivals."

         New Statesman and Society [London]. 23 September 1994. Reuben Löwy. "Free to Self-Destruct."

Reuters. 31 October 1995. BC Cycle. "Bomb Kills At Least 25 in Kurd-Held Northern Iraq." (NEXIS)

_____. 12 September 1995. BC Cycle. "Turkish Kurd Rebels Attack Kurds in North Iraq." (NEXIS)

_____. 28 August 1995. BC Cycle. Leon Barkho. "U.N. Fears for Kurdish Refugees in N. Iraq Fighting." (NEXIS)

_____. 25 August 1995. BC Cycle. "Iraq Troops Stage 'Routine' Attack on Kurd Village." (NEXIS)

_____. 11 July 1995. BC Cycle. "U.N. Says Kurd Faction Fighting Rages in Iraq." (NEXIS)

_____. 26 March 1995. Hidir Goktas. BC Cycle. "U.N. Moves Refugees from Turkey's Iraq Offensive." (NEXIS)

_____. 26 December 1994. BC Cycle. "Iraqi Kurdish Chiefs Sign Cease-Fire Pact: IRNA." (NEXIS)

         Sunday Times [London]. 23 October 1995. Sue Lloyd-Roberts. "Saddam Torture Victims Shown in Grisly Parade." (NEXIS)

         Third World Quarterly [London]. 1993. Vol. 14, No. 2. Michael M. Gunter. "A de facto Kurdish State in Northern Iraq."

         Turkish Daily News [Ankara, in English]. 29 April 1995. "Golhan on 'Village Guard' in Iraq, Incursion." (FBIS-WEU-95-086 4 May 1995, 56)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 20 March 1995. UNHCR Update on Northern Iraq. "UNHCR Concerned About Safety of Turkish Kurds in Northern Iraq."

The United Press International (UPI). 31 October 1995. BC Cycle. "Iraq Opposition Group Bombed." (NEXIS)

_____. 12 September 1995. BC Cycle. Paul O'Kane. "Kurdish Factions Meet to Discuss Peace." (NEXIS)

_____. 5 January 1995. BC Cycle. Abed Jaber. "Iraqi Kurds Fight, Truce Expected." (NEXIS)

US Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Humanitarian Response (BHR), Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). 15 August 1995. Situation Report No. 4. Northern Iraq—Displaced Persons.

Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan [Salah al-Din, in Arabic]. 27 September 1995. "Area Under Turkish Kurds' Party Liberated: Kurdish Party Radio." (BBC Summary 29 Sept. 1995/NEXIS)

Attachment

Amnesty International (AI). 28 February 1995. Iraq: Human Rights Abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan Since 1991. (AI Index: MDE 14/01/95). London: Amnesty International, np.

NOTES:

1. Copies of this report are available at the IRB Regional Documentation Centres.

2. For a map of the region, please see the attachment from Amnesty International.

[1]Copies of this report are available at the IRB Regional Documentation Centres.