11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Fewer sectarian violence in KRG region than elsewhere; bombings in Erbil and Makhmour ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23626]

"In Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, the three provinces comprising the majority of the area under the jurisdiction of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), there were fewer reports of sectarian violence than elsewhere. Unlike in the previous year, there were no new reports of KRG security forces using excessive force that resulted in deaths.

On May 9, a bombing in Erbil killed 19 and injured 70 persons. According to the KRG MOI, evidence connected the bombing to AQI cells in Kirkuk and Mosul. On May 13, a suicide truck bombing outside the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) headquarters in Makhmour, 25 miles south of Erbil, killed 50 and wounded 70 persons."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Competences and composition of Kurdish security forces in 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 23645]

"The KRG maintained its own regional security forces as set forth in the constitution. Pending further progress on implementing the Unification Plan for the KRG, the two main parties of the Kurdish region maintained outside the control of the KRG MOI Peshmerga units as regional guards, internal security units (Asayish), and intelligence units. KRG security forces and intelligence services were involved in the detention of suspects in KRG-controlled areas. The variety of borders and areas of authority remained a cause of confusion, and therefore concern, with regard to the jurisdiction of security and courts."

Document(s): Open document

08.2007 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention of ethnic minorities by Kurdish militia in Kirkuk and areas of Kurdish Regional Government ("UNHCR's Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the International Protection Needs of Iraqi Asylum-seekers") [ID 23251]

"Members of ethnic minorities run the risk of arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention by Kurdish militias. The existence of extra-judicial detentions were first exposed by the Washington Post in June 2005, which had gathered statements by American and Iraqi officials, government documents and families of victims. It reported a “concerted and widespread initiative” by the Kurdish parties “to exercise authority in Kirkuk in an increasingly provocative manner”. The Washington Post article also cited a source which pointed to a practice by the Kurdish-dominated security forces and the Asayish, the Kurdish security, of transferring hundreds of detainees from Kirkuk and Mosul to the KRG administered areas “without authority of local courts or the knowledge of Ministries of Interior or Defense in Baghdad”. According to this source, the abductions had “greatly exacerbated tensions along purely ethnic lines.”"

Document(s): Open document

21.06.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds have been forced to flee their homes after up to 30,000 Turkish soldiers massed on the Iraqi-Turkish border and launched attacks against Kurdish fighters ("Hundreds flee homes as Turkish forces battle Kurdish fighters") [ID 20501]

"In response to recent attacks, including a bombing in Ankara in May that killed eight people, Turkey expanded its force along the border, deploying additional artillery and dozens of tanks. Iraqi border police say Turkey has 20,000-30,000 soldiers along its border with Iraq, and has set up a special security zone that restricts movement in the area. Iraqi Kurdish villagers living near the Turkish border fear a Turkish invasion similar to that of 1997, when large numbers of Turkish forces crossed the border to fight the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which wants an independent Kurdistan carved out of northern Iraq as well as parts of Iran and Turkey."

Document(s): Open document

18.01.2007 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Autonomous northern region of Iraqi Kurds relatively safe and well-protected by an experienced security force ("IRAQ: Kurdistan, low in violence but lacking services") [ID 19817]

"Unlike other parts of the country, the three-province autonomous northern region of Kurdistan is not the Iraq of roadside bombs and beheadings. It is relatively safe and well-protected by an experienced security force. Locals and foreigners alike can walk around freely and there is even an active nightlife. [...] A police officer, who spoke only on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to media, said Kurdistan has witnessed just 10 bomb blasts since the US-led occupation of Iraq began in 2003. He added that 60 civilians had been killed and about 100 others wounded since then. Over the past three years, there have been just three violent incidents in Arbil, two in Sulaimaniyah and five in Dahuk. All these attacks were directed against political party headquarters and army and police checkpoints and patrols. [...] In contrast to the rest of Iraq, hotels, offices, houses and apartment buildings are going up at a frenzied pace. Arbil and Sulaymaniyah boast new airports. Some of the Kurds, who are ethnically distinct from Iraq's majority Arabs, have been returning from exile. Even Arabs are moving in, many of them professionals escaping from the violence and crime that afflict many parts of the south."

Document(s): Open document