ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Residents of the Makhmour refugee camp on Thursday continued to report severe restrictions on their movement and access to essential goods, despite denials from Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. “We can’t even take ill people to get treatment outside of the camp because of the blockade,” a resident told Rudaw, adding that medicine and other medical supplies are running low. Camp officials say basic necessities like school supplies, construction materials, and household goods are barred from entering the camp. A supervisor from the camp, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they have been under a blockade imposed by the Kurdistan Region since 2019, which was compounded by Iraqi restrictions added three months ago. “If it continues, a humanitarian catastrophe will occur,” the official warned. Residents have staged protests in recent months demanding an end to the restrictions, which they say amount to a collective punishment unrelated to current security developments. The Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement disputes the claims. “They are officially registered with the Iraqi state and have no problems and are free to move to all provinces,” ministry spokesperson Ali Abbas told Rudaw on Thursday. Abbas added that residents are fearful following the arrest of five camp representatives in Baghdad. The individuals were detained after traveling to the capital in May to protest what they described as a government-imposed blockade. According to information obtained by Rudaw, the group was released after spending over a month in detention. Makhmour camp, located southwest of Erbil and administratively part of Nineveh province, was established in 1998 and is home to around 10,000 Kurdish refugees from southeast Turkey, most of whom were displaced during Turkey’s conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) when their villages were depopulated. Camp authorities say residents are currently barred from working, accessing hospitals, or enrolling in universities, while many have been unable to renew expired refugee documents, preventing them from passing through checkpoints. The camp has long been caught in regional tensions. Turkey views it as a PKK stronghold, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2021 labeling it an “incubation center for terrorism.” Turkish airstrikes and drone attacks have previously targeted alleged PKK positions in and around the camp. The PKK, which has fought Turkey for decades for greater Kurdish rights, deployed fighters to protect the camp from Islamic State (ISIS) attacks in 2014 but said it withdrew its forces in October 2023. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and was officially banned by Iraq last year under Turkish pressure. On May 12, the PKK announced its decision to dissolve, and a group of its fighters is expected to disarm in a ceremony in Sulaimani province next week, according to sources familiar with the process. As regional actors navigate a fragile peace process, Iraq is now reportedly seeking to return Makhmour camp residents to Turkey. ”Especially now that there is rapprochement between the PKK and Turkey and the issue of laying down arms is near, the Iraqi government wants to directly send them back to their homeland alongside managing the peace process,” Rashad Galali, deputy head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) office in Makhmour, told Rudaw. Soran Hussein contributed to this report.
