Amnesty condemns ‘illegal and cruel’ forced displacement of Arabs in Kirkuk

The Kurdish practice of displacing Arab civilians of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk and the destruction of their homes is a “war crime”, Amnesty International has said.

Kurdish forces have destroyed the homes of hundreds of Arabs and displaced them from Kirkuk in revenge for an attack carried out by Daesh on 21 October, the human rights group said today.

“In the aftermath of the surprise IS attack on eight different locations across Kirkuk on October 21 many said they were ordered to leave the area and had their identity cards confiscated. Among those affected are an estimated 250 families who had previously been displaced from other governorates of Iraq and had sought safety and shelter in Kirkuk,” Amnesty said, using another acronym for Daesh.

A 40-year-old father of ten described to Amnesty how “men in military uniform came to the Manshiya area of the Wahed Huzairan neighbourhood of Kirkuk city and ordered residents to leave by morning.”

The man explained that “early the next day they were forcibly evicted while bulldozers demolished homes late into the night.”

Among those affected are an estimated 250 families who had previously been displaced from other governorates of Iraq and had sought safety and shelter in Kirkuk.

“Forcibly evicting and displacing Sunni Arab residents of Kirkuk is unlawful and cruel. Kurdish authorities must immediately put an end to unlawful destruction of civilian property and forced displacement,” said Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty International’s Beirut regional office.