Since last week, Turkish warplanes, attack helicopters, and combat drones have flooded into neighbouring Iraq shortly after Ankara announced the launch of a major offensive called Operation Claw Lock against Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) militants. In fact, Claw Lock marks the fourth major Turkish campaign against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq since 2020, after Claw Eagle and Claw Tiger in 2020, and Claw Lightning and Claw Thunderbolt in 2021.
Ankara stressed that the operation is meant to “neutralise” PKK militants in the region, as Turkey and the PKK have been fighting a decades-long war in which more than 4,000 Turkish civilians and almost 7,000 military personnel have died. Turkey considers the PKK, which has been labelled as a “terrorist” by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), to be a grave national security threat. While the conflict for the most part has taken place within Turkey, it has occasionally spread to neighbouring countries like Syria and Iraq. However, following the eruption of the Syrian civil war and the subsequent destabilisation of the region, Turkey saw an opportunity to push back PKK and its affiliates from Turkey’s doorstep and establish a ‘safe zone’ along its borders.
Since 2015, Ankara has unleashed its military might against the PKK in Iraq and the Syria-based People’s Defence Units (YPG). However, more than six years after its renewed military push, Ankara has not been able to significantly deter the militants. Instead, Turkey’s military operations in the region have led to a brewing humanitarian crisis (especially in Iraqi Kurdistan), which the latest offensive threatens to further exacerbate.
For instance, Turkish bombings in northern Iraq, particularly in the Duhok province, have forcibly displaced thousands of civilians, leaving hundreds of villages completely deserted. Vulnerable groups like the Yazidis, who have already suffered greatly under the rule of the Islamic State, have been forced to abandon refuge camps. Per reports, more than 3,000 Yazidis fled the conflict last year alone. In the case of Shiladze town in Duhok, only seven out of the 92 villages are inhabited, while the rest have been deserted as a result of Turkish bombings since 2020. Countless other villages in different towns have also been abandoned as a result. Since 2015, over a thousand Iraqis, including civilians, have been killed in Turkey’s frequent assaults.
🆕Using satellite imagery we found 81km of new roads and 13.5 km of reactivated/expanded roads in Iraqi #Kurdistan that can be linked with increased logging of trees. These roads are likely used in the Turkish military campaign against the PKK. Full map below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AtcuBFzpS1
— Wim Zwijnenburg (@wammezz) June 2, 2021
Turkey’s campaign against the PKK has also resulted in grave environmental damage. In fact, massive deforestation has been one of the results of Turkey’s ground assault in Duhok. Observers have said that Turkish troops have cut down so many trees that massive swathes of forest land in the region have been deforested. Satellite images show that troops have cut down trees to clear space for the construction of new roads. Turkey’s logging activities have also soured Ankara’s ties with the regional Kurdistani government led by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has provided Turkey with key intelligence on PKK militants. Turkey has recently shown interest in purchasing crude oil from the Kurdistan government, as the region holds almost three billion barrels of oil. However, the KRG has been extremely critical of Turkey’s deforestation campaign and accused Turkey of manufacturing a humanitarian crisis, as deforestation would affect the livelihoods of farmers and create a food crisis.
Alongside cutting down trees to make way for roads, its relentless airstrikes have led to huge forest fires that have destroyed thousands of acres of cultivable land. According to official figures from the local government, in Duhok alone, more than 4,000 acres of land have been destroyed due to Turkish airstrikes in the first five months of 2021. Kurdish farmers have lost their main source of livelihood and have been forced to find other sources of employment. Farmers and other villagers have also been relocated to safer places as a result of the bombardment.
Moreover, following the launch of Operation Claw Lock, Turkey has expanded its area of operations to Erbil, where Turkish jets have been pounding villages. Multiple observers have noted that airstrikes have targeted residential areas and at least one confirmed incident of a civilian home being destroyed has been reported following Ankara’s recent announcement.
Additionally, several reports have accused Turkey of using chemical weapons in Iraq. According to international law, the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons have been banned and their usage is considered a crime. Although the reports have not been confirmed, Kurds have previously accused Turkey of using such weapons. In fact, in December last year, several Kurds protested outside the premises of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague against Turkey’s alleged use of chemical weapons and demanded an OPCW investigation into the matter. Furthermore, the European Parliament held a session regarding Turkey’s possible use of chemical weapons and called for an investigation. It said that if the use of chemical weapons is confirmed that the EU would impose sanctions on Turkey.
The US, too, has condemned Turkey's actions in Iraq. According to the State Department’s 2021 report on global human rights practices, Turkey has intentionally targeted civilians in Iraq, including women and children. Furthermore, it notes that Turkish airstrikes have not only killed local residents but also resulted in the deaths of several medical and emergency staff.
All things considered, massive military campaigns like Operation Claw Lock are bound to both create and gravely exacerbate humanitarian crises in an already crisis-torn region. For instance, in Yemen, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in the country in 2015 to eliminate the Shia Houthi rebels who had ousted the internationally recognised government in 2014. The coalition has for years indiscriminately bombarded civilian areas in Yemen, including hospitals, residential areas, food storage facilities, and schools, and blockaded the country from international trade in order to force the Houthis to surrender. However, the Saudi-led campaign failed to eliminate the Houthis and instead led to the deaths of thousands and displaced millions while at the same time causing what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Keeping this in mind, Turkey is highly unlikely to eradicate PKK militants from Iraq just by using brute force. Moreover, even if Ankara partially succeeds in its objectives, the humanitarian toll would far exceed any perceived success. Therefore, rather than improving regional security, Operation Claw Lock will only draw Turkey into a seemingly unwinnable war that will only further exacerbate the plight of tens of thousands of people living in the region and lead to the Middle East’s next big humanitarian crisis.