Das vorliegende Dokument beruht auf einer zeitlich begrenzten Recherche in öffentlich zugänglichen Dokumenten, die ACCORD derzeit zur Verfügung stehen sowie gegebenenfalls auf Auskünften von Expert·innen und wurde in Übereinstimmung mit den Standards von ACCORD und den Common EU Guidelines for processing Country of Origin Information (COI) erstellt.

Dieses Produkt stellt keine Meinung zum Inhalt eines Ansuchens um Asyl oder anderen internationalen Schutz dar. Alle Übersetzungen stellen Arbeitsübersetzungen dar, für die keine Gewähr übernommen werden kann.

Wir empfehlen, die verwendeten Materialien im Original durchzusehen. Originaldokumente, die nicht kostenfrei oder online abrufbar sind, können bei ACCORD eingesehen oder angefordert werden.

Nach Angaben der Türkei seien Anfang des Jahres in einem Höhlenkomplex in Gara zwölf türkische Geiseln und eine irakisch-kurdische Geisel getötet worden. Die PKK habe angegeben, dass die Tötungen durch türkische Luftangriffe verursacht worden seien (The Guardian, 4. April 2021).

Laut der staatlichen türkischen Nachrichtenagentur Anadolu Agency (AA), sei die getötete irakisch-kurdische Geisel Jotyar Muhsin Hussein gewesen (AA, 22. Februar 2021).

Die regierungsnahe türkische Tageszeitung Daily Sabah zitiert im Februar 2021 eine Stellungnahme der Regionalregierung der Region Kurdistan, in der die Entführung, Inhaftierung und Tötung von Jotyar Muhsin Hussein, aus Duhok, durch die PKK kritisiert wird (Daily Sabah, 23. Februar 2021). Jotyar Muhsin sei, laut Rudaw, Ende Jänner 2020 von der PKK gefangen genommen worden, da diese ihn der Spionage für den türkischen Geheimdienst beschuldigt habe (Rudaw, 13. Mai 2020).

Das US Department of State (USDOS) schreibt in seinem Jahresbericht zur Menschenrechtslage im Irak von der Entführung zweier Bürger in der Provinz Dohuk durch die PKK im Juli 2020 (USDOS, 30. März 2021, Section 1b).

Die türkische staatliche Nachrichtenagentur Anadolu Agency (AA) berichtet im Juni 2018 von der Entführung von drei Dorfbewohnern nahe Erbil durch die PKK aus unbekannten Gründen (AA, 5. Juni 2018).

Präsenz und Aktivitäten der PKK in der Region um Amediye (Amedi), Provinz Dohuk

Das Europäische Unterstützungsbüro für Asylfragen (European Asylum Support Office, EASO) fasst die Präsenz der PKK und deren Folgen für die Zivilbevölkerung in Dohuk in ihren Länderleitlinien zum Irak vom Jänner 2021 wie folgt zusammen:

In den Jahren 2019 und 2020 habe sich die Sicherheitslage in den nördlichen Grenzgebieten der Provinz Dohuk aufgrund türkischer und PKK-Aktivitäten verschlechtert. Die PKK habe Kontrolle über Berggebiete in der Region Kurdistan, einschließlich im Zab-Gebirge in der Provinz Dohuk, von wo aus sie grenzüberschreitende Angriffe in die Türkei starte. Die Türkei habe in Dohuk Militärstützpunkte eingerichtet, um PKK-Hochburgen anzugreifen. Luftangriffe, bodengestützte Angriffe und Beschuss auf Dörfer und Grenzgebiete in Kurdistan, in denen angeblich PKK-Elemente vorhanden seien, seien gemeldet worden. Diese Angriffe würden zivile Gebiete betreffen und zur Evakuierung von Dörfern führen. Die türkischen Militäroperationen gegen die PKK in der Provinz Dohuk hätten das Leben der Dorfbewohner in den von Luftangriffen betroffenen Gebieten beeinflusst. Luftangriffe würden zu erheblichen Schäden an Ackerland, Eigentum und Infrastruktur, einschließlich Straßen, führen. Laut dem Datenset von ACLED seien die meisten sicherheitsrelevanten Vorfälle um 2019/2020 in der Provinz Dohuk in den Gebieten von Amedi und Zakho erfolgt (EASO, Jänner 2021, S. 137-138).

The Guardian veröffentlicht im April 2021 einen Artikel zu Situation in der Region Amedi. Der Artikel beschreibt die Tötung von drei Zivilisten im Dezember 2020 bei der Suche nach Honig und Pilzen in den Bergen, vermutlich durch einen türkischen Drohnenangriff. Es wird weiters die Tötung eines Zivilisten durch einen türkischen Drohnenangriff im Juni 2020 beschrieben, dessen Auto möglicherweise an einem PKK-Checkpoint aufgehalten worden sei, bevor ihn die Drohne getroffen habe. Ein Hirte aus Amedi habe dem Guardian von zwei Hirten erzählt, die von der PKK getötet worden seien, sowie einem, der durch einen türkischen Drohnenangriff ums Leben gekommen sei. Ein weiterer Zivilist habe seinen Sohn bei einem türkischen Drohnenangriff im Jahr 2017 verloren und habe sein rechtes Bein verloren, als er 2018 auf eine Mine getreten sei, von der er glaube, dass sie von der PKK gelegt worden sei.

Laut dem Guardian seien die Berge in Amedi für ihre ehemaligen Bewohner·innen tabu. Die Kämpfe zwischen PKK und der Türkei hätten laut der Gruppe Christian Peacemaker Teams zur Vertreibung von Bewohnern aus 400 Dörfern geführt. Viele vertriebene Familien seien jedoch gezwungen, in die verbotenen Zonen zurückzukehren, um wirtschaftlich zu überleben. Laut einem Bewohner sei es ihnen jedoch von der PKK nicht erlaubt, ein einziges Feuer anzuzünden.

Im Sommer 2020 habe Ankara, unter anderem in der Region Amedi, die Operation Claw-Eagle gestartet. The Guardian zitiert den Irak-Forscher der Organisation Airwars, Mohammed Al-Jumaily. Laut Al-Jumaily habe die Operation zu einem starken Anstieg ziviler Opfer geführt. Es seien zwischen 27 und 33 irakische Zivilisten getötet und 23 verletzt worden. Laut einem Einwohner würden die Bewegungsmöglichkeiten der Bevölkerung jedes Jahr weiter eingeschränkt. (The Guardian, 4. April 2021)

ARK News berichtet, dass die PKK im November 2020 Peshmerga-Soldaten in Chamanke, Amedi, attackiert habe (ARK News, 4. November 2020).

Al-Jazeera zitiert im Dezember 2020 den Präsidenten der KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party), Masoud Barzani, sowie Aland Amir, Bürgermeister von Chamanke, die die PKK bezichtigen, Dörfer unter ihre Kontrolle zu bringen und von den Bewohnern Steuern zu verlangen (Al-Jazeera, 2. Dezember 2020).

Laut Rudaw sei im Dezember 2020 ein Peshmerga-Soldat bei Schüssen der PKK auf die Soldaten eines Checkpoints in Amedi getötet worden (Rudaw, 14. Dezember 2020).

Laut Kurdpress (KP) hätten türkische Kampfflugzeuge Ziele nahe des Dorfes Siane im Distrikt Amedi bombadiert (KP, 13. Februar 2021).

Rudaw berichtet im April 2021, dass Dorfbewohner in Amedi aufgrund der regelmäßigen gegen die PKK in der Region gerichteten türkischen Bombardierungen Angst hätten, ihre Häuser zu verlassen (Rudaw, 27. April 2021).

 

Quellen: (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am 31. Mai 2021)

·      AA – Anadolu Agency: PKK abducts 3 villagers in Iraq’s Erbil: Local official, 5. Juni 2018
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/pkk-abducts-3-villagers-in-iraq-s-erbil-local-official/1166543

·      AA- Anadolu Agency: Iraqi national among 13 executed by PKK: Turkey, 22. Februar 2021
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/iraqi-national-among-13-executed-by-pkk-turkey/2153329

·      Al-Jazeera: Kurd vs Kurd: Fears of full-scale war rise in northern Iraq, 2. Dezember 2020
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/2/kurd-vs-kurd-fears-of-full-scale-war-rise-in-northern-iraq

·      ARK News: Breaking News... The terrorist PKK attacks the Peshmerga in the city of Amedi in the Duhok Governorate, 4. November 2020
https://www.arknews.net/en/node/24470

·      Daily Sabah: Iraq’s Duhok governorate condemns PKK killing Iraqi national, 23. Februar 2021
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/iraqs-duhok-governorate-condemns-pkk-killing-iraqi-national

·      EASO – European Asylum Support Office: Country Guidance: Iraq; Common analysis and guidance note, Jänner 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2045437/Country_Guidance_Iraq_2021.pdf

·      KP – Kurdpress: Turkish jets hit village in Duhok, 13. Februar 2021
https://kurdpress.com/en/news/480/Turkish-jets-hit-village-in-Duhok/

·      Rudaw: Family urges PKK to release man accused of spying for Turkey, 13. Mai 2020
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/13052020

·      Rudaw: One Peshmerga dead in clashes with PKK, 14. Dezember 2020
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/141220201

·      Rudaw: 'We can't leave our houses': Amedi villagers terrified of Turkish bombardments, 27. April 2021
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/27042021

·      The Guardian: Kurds in 'mountain prison' cower as Turkey fights PKK with drones in Iraq, 4. April 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/04/iraq-turkey-pkk-drones-kurds-kurdistan

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Iraq, 30. März 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2048100.html

 

Anhang: Quellenbeschreibungen und Informationen aus ausgewählten Quellen

Anadolu Agency (AA) ist die staatliche Nachrichtenagentur der Türkei.

·      AA – Anadolu Agency: PKK abducts 3 villagers in Iraq’s Erbil: Local official, 5. Juni 2018
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/pkk-abducts-3-villagers-in-iraq-s-erbil-local-official/1166543

„Local officials in Erbil, the administrative capital of northern Iraq’s Kurdish region, confirmed Tuesday that three local people had been abducted from the city’s outskirts by the PKK terrorist group.

Muslih Zirar, headman of Erbil’s village of Warta, told Anadolu Agency that PKK terrorists had abducted three villagers -- for unknown reasons -- on Saturday.

According to Zirar, the three villagers’ fate remains unknown until now.“ (AA, 5. Juni 2018)

·      AA- Anadolu Agency: Iraqi national among 13 executed by PKK: Turkey, 22. Februar 2021
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/iraqi-national-among-13-executed-by-pkk-turkey/2153329

„On Feb. 14, Turkey’s defense chief announced 13 bodies were found during Turkey's anti-terror operation in Gara, northern Iraq.

Initially, it was believed that all of them were Turkish nationals.

However, after the autopsy it was confirmed that the 13th body belonged to Jotyar Muhsin Hussein, an Iraqi national.

The body was returned to the family.“ (AA, 22. Februar 2021)

Al-Jazeera ist ein in Doha ansässiger arabischer Nachrichtensender.

·      Al-Jazeera: Kurd vs Kurd: Fears of full-scale war rise in northern Iraq, 2. Dezember 2020
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/2/kurd-vs-kurd-fears-of-full-scale-war-rise-in-northern-iraq

„KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party] President Masoud Barzani accused the PKK of infiltrating Kurdish villages and two days later planting a bomb in Duhok that killed a Peshmerga fighter and wounded two others. The attack was condemned by the US, France, and the federal Iraqi government.

Barzani accused the PKK of disrespecting the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] by invading villages under its control and imposing taxes on locals – infringing on its sovereignty and oppressing residents. […]

Chamanke town has become the flashpoint of the Kurd-Kurd confrontation. Aland Amir, mayor of the town where a clash took place on November 4, said 35 villages in the region are ‘occupied by the PKK’.

‘Villagers are not allowed to go back to their areas that have fallen under PKK control, unless they pay them tax,’ Amir told Al Jazeera.

‘The PKK has become a serious threat to our region. Our people are always subject to getting killed amid the Turkey-PKK crossfire,’ he said. ‘Turkish bombs are expected to drop anytime. If the PKK leaves then Turkey will not bomb. The more they stay, the worse our people will go through. We ask them to go back to their country and fight their battle on their land, not ours.’“ (Al-Jazeera, 2. Dezember 2020)

ARK News ist eine kurdische Nachrichtenwebseite, die sich auf kurdische Themen und Nachrichten spezialisiert.

·      ARK News: Breaking News... The terrorist PKK attacks the Peshmerga in the city of Amedi in the Duhok Governorate, 4. November 2020
https://www.arknews.net/en/node/24470

„The Kurdistan Region media reported that the PKK (Terrorist organization)attacked the Peshmerga forces at the kasabasında junction in the Chemanke area of the city of Amedi in the Duhok governorate, and according to what was reported by Kurdistan 24 channel that the PKK militants attacked the Peshmerga forces with heavy weapons, and there are a number of Peshmerga are still surrounded by the PKK (Terrorist organization) militants.“ (ARK News, 4. November 2020)

Daily Sabah ist eine regierungsnahe englischsprachige Tageszeitung in der Türkei.

·      Daily Sabah: Iraq’s Duhok governorate condemns PKK killing Iraqi national, 23. Februar 2021
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/iraqs-duhok-governorate-condemns-pkk-killing-iraqi-national

„The governorate of Iraq's northern Duhok province condemned the killing of an Iraqi national by the PKK terrorist organization on Tuesday.

‘We condemn the kidnapping, detention, imprisonment and martyrdom of Duhok citizen Jotyar Muhsin Hussein by the PKK,’ the governorate said in a statement.“ (Daily Sabah, 23. Februar 2021)

Das Europäische Unterstützungsbüro für Asylfragen (European Asylum Support Office, EASO) ist eine Agentur der Europäischen Union, die die praktische Zusammenarbeit der Mitgliedsstaaten im Asylbereich fördern soll und die Mitgliedsstaaten unter anderem durch Recherche von Herkunftsländerinformation und entsprechende Publikationen unterstützt.

·      EASO – European Asylum Support Office: Country Guidance: Iraq; Common analysis and guidance note, Jänner 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2045437/Country_Guidance_Iraq_2021.pdf

„Dohuk governorate is under the control of the KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party]. In 2017, it was reported that Dohuk governorate enjoyed a ‘stable security situation’ since the beginning of the 2014 ISIL conflict. However, during 2019 and 2020, the security situation in the northern border areas of Dohuk governorate deteriorated due to Turkish and PKK activities. The PKK has presence and control over mountainous areas in the KRI [Kurdistan Region Iraq], including in the Zab Mountains in Dohuk governorate, from where it launched cross-border attacks in Turkey. Turkey has set up military bases in Dohuk to target PKK strongholds. Airstrikes, ground-based attacks and shelling targeting villages and border areas in the KRI where PKK elements were allegedly present, were reported. These attacks affected civilian areas and led to evacuation of villages, The Iraqi Border Guard Force 1 established bases to de-escalate the situation between Turkey and the PKK and to prevent losses of civilian lives. Other armed groups, including Kurdish insurgents, were also reported to operate in Dohuk governorate. Criminality, civil unrest and cross smuggling posed a limited but persistent security threat. Protests against Turkish airstrikes were also recorded.

ACLED reported a total of 751 security incidents (average of 9.1 security incidents per week) in Dohuk governorate in the reference period, the majority of which coded as remote violence/explosions. Security incidents occurred in all districts of the governorate, with the majority taking place in Amedi and Zakho districts. Few incidents were recorded in the rest of the governorate during the reporting period. For 2019, Dohuk governorate came third in terms of the number of conflict incidents following Diyala and Erbil. For the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 July 2020, UNAMI [United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq] recorded 78 armed conflict related incidents, 19 taking place in 2019 and 59 from 1stJanuary until 31st July 2020 (average of 0.9 security incident per week for the full reference period). […]

The Turkish military operations against PKK in Dohuk governorate have impacted the lives of villagers in the areas targeted by airstrikes. Airstrikes resulted in extensive damage to farmlands, property and infrastructure, including roads. Mine contamination in the governorate has also been reported.“ (EASO, Jänner 2021, S. 137-138)

Kurdpress (KP) ist eine kurdische Nachrichtenagentur, die über Nachrichten aus dem Iran, Irak, Türkei und Syrien berichtet.

·      KP – Kurdpress: Turkish jets hit village in Duhok, 13. Februar 2021
https://kurdpress.com/en/news/480/Turkish-jets-hit-village-in-Duhok/

„Turkish warplanes bombed targets near Siane village on Gara Mountain in Duhok’s Amedi district on Saturday, February 13.“ (KP, 13. Februar 2021)

Rudaw ist ein in der Autonomen Region Kurdistan (Irak) ansässiges kurdisches Mediennetzwerk.

·      Rudaw: Family urges PKK to release man accused of spying for Turkey, 13. Mai 2020
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/13052020

„The PKK, which captured Jutiyar Muhsin in Amedi on January 29, issued a statement on Monday accusing him of spying on behalf of Turkish intelligence.“ (Rudaw, 13. Mai 2020)

·      Rudaw: One Peshmerga dead in clashes with PKK, 14. Dezember 2020
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/141220201

„One Peshmerga was killed in clashes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Sunday night in Duhok province’s Amedi district, according to a security source.

‘PKK vehicles tried to breach a Peshmerga checkpoint, and shot at Peshmerga forces,’ Badal Bandi, a Peshmerga commander told Rudaw English Monday morning. ‘One Peshmerga was killed as a result of the clash, and we are currently on the way to Zakho to bury his body’.“ (Rudaw, 14. Dezember 2020)

·      Rudaw: 'We can't leave our houses': Amedi villagers terrified of Turkish bombardments, 27. April 2021
https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/27042021

„Villagers in Duhok's Amedi district have said they are afraid to leave their homes and visit the nearby mountains due to regular Turkish bombardments.

‘None of us dare to go out to collect herbs. Even our sheep can’t go out to graze,’ said farmer Sardar Sargale.

‘We can’t leave our houses this spring, during the herb harvest season. It’s a nice time for sheep and livestock, but no one dares to go out,’ said housewife Khayal Sdiq.

‘Our hands are tied. We get scared when we see the jets coming.’

More than 500 villages have been emptied due to the conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish armed group which has bases in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region.“ (Rudaw, 27. April 2021)

The Guardian ist eine britische Tageszeitung.

·      The Guardian: Kurds in 'mountain prison' cower as Turkey fights PKK with drones in Iraq, 4. April 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/04/iraq-turkey-pkk-drones-kurds-kurdistan

„It took 10 days to find Muhsin Speri’s body. The 64-year-old had left his town in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan along with friends Hassan Sadiq and Safar Sini on a dry, windy day in December last year to fish and forage for wild honey and mushrooms.

Life in the Amedi region of the Zagros mountains is hard and physical, but the area has been home to Kurdish and Assyrian communities in sync with the rhythms of the mountains for thousands of years. Many locals like to roam and camp for several days at a time, but after Speri’s family failed to reach him by phone for more than a week, a search party was launched.

The bodies of the three former peshmerga soldiers were found in the Zeri valley, torn to pieces by what is believed to have been a Turkish drone strike. […]

The mountains were known as the “forbidden zone” under Saddam’s regime when they hosted the peshmerga, or Kurdish freedom fighters. Today the mountains are still off-limits, but to those who used to call them home. The renewed fighting has emptied an estimated 400 villages and killed almost 100 civilians to date, according to the rights group Christian Peacemaker Teams. Locals estimate that Turkish airstrikes and drone strikes now hit up to 70% of the area’s rugged peaks.

Many displaced families have sought refuge in district centres such as Deraluk, where Speri’s family live, but the influx of people has resulted in overcrowding and underemployment.

The limited economic opportunities are part of the reason so many people are compelled to return to the forbidden zone. Selling wild herbs, mushrooms and honey foraged in the mountains can significantly supplement a family’s income.

‘We are refugees here, we don’t own an inch of this land. We have to smuggle ourselves back into our own hills and valleys because the Turkish planes drop bombs every day, and the PKK don’t even let us light a single fire,’ said Baxtiyar. […]

The PKK has long been accused by rights groups such as Amnesty International of abducting teenagers to train as fighters, as well as the detention and murder of civilians suspected of spying – claims the group denies.

According to Turkey, 12 Turkish hostages and one Iraqi Kurdish hostage were killed, all but one with gunshots to the head, in a cave complex in Gara earlier this year. The PKK said the deaths were caused by Turkish airstrikes. […]

‘We feel the danger,’ said Barani Abdujubar Shexo, who owns 50 sheep he keeps in Amedi in the summer months.’ I know two shepherds killed by the PKK and one by a Turkish airstrike. During the night we cannot move.’

In the summer of 2020, emboldened by its growing military prowess, Ankara launched Operation Claw-Eagle, swiftly followed by Claw-Tiger, Turkey’s most intense military action in Iraq in the last six years. The defence ministry said more than 150 suspected PKK positions were hit by jets, helicopters, drones and artillery, including targets in the Amedi border region, the Yazidi homeland of Sinjar, and the Qandil mountains.

According to Airwars, the operations caused a ‘sharp rise in reported civilian harm’: between 27 and 33 Iraqi civilians were killed and 23 were injured, amounting to more than double the number of civilians killed in 2019, said Mohammed al-Jumaily, the organisation’s Iraq researcher. […]

Adam’s car was hit by a Turkish airstrike while he was on the way to a picnic in June last year. Human Rights Watch interviewed witnesses who raised the possibility that the men may have been stopped at a PKK checkpoint moments before being targeted. […]

But for the people of Amedi, a cycle of violence is repeating itself in new and terrifying ways.

Tamar Ameen Tamar, 66, lost his daughter and his mother as a result of the fighting in 1997. His son was killed in a Turkish strike in 2017, leaving his six grandchildren fatherless. Tamar himself lost his right leg above the knee while tending his goats in 2018 after stepping on a mine he believes was laid by the PKK.

‘Every year our movements get more restricted … We are losing our freedom, but I am scared to let the children go out and play,’ he said. ‘I expect us to be targeted at any moment now.’“ (The Guardian, 4. April 2021)

US Department of State (USDOS) ist das US-amerikanische Außenministerium.

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Iraq, 30. März 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2048100.html

„Local authorities in Sinjar, Ninewa Province, reported approximately 70 Yezidis were confined in secret Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) prisons. Local authorities alleged that since July 2019 PKK fighters had abducted more than 400 Yezidi women residents whose fates remained unclear. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) security forces did not have direct access to Sinjar and were unable definitively to verify reports. In July the PKK kidnapped two citizens in Duhok Province. The fate of the two abductees remained unknown.“ (USDOS, 30. März 2021, Section 1b)