Time Running Out For 20,000 Iraqi Turkmen under Siege by the Islamic State in Amerli

Time Running Out For 20,000 Iraqi Turkmen under Siege by the Islamic State in Amerli



Caught in between the inability of the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to protect them from the IS and the lack of awareness and attention of the international community, the Iraqi Turkmen of the town of Amerli are facing a struggle for their existence and, for now, they are forced to do it alone.

Amerli and its citizens are not strangers to unprovoked violent attacks. Home to the Iraqi Turkmen people who are indigenous to northern Iraq, it has been singled out as a target for violence by terrorists and extremists throughout its history. Amerli was the site of a devastating suicide bomb attack in 2007 that killed 150 people and injured 400 others. With the advance of the Islamic State, it is facing an even greater threat.

For six weeks this town of 20,000 inhabitants has been holding out under siege by fighters from the Islamic State, but time is running out. The water supply to the town has been cut off for 9 days by the IS forces and there has been no electricity for 10 days. Food supplies have almost been depleted and the residents of Amerli must endure intense summer heat, often exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. The town continues to be shelled heavily by the IS forces. Eight people have already lost their lives and there are over 50 people who are seriously ill and over 30 seriously injured who require urgent medical attention. With no medics present and very few medical supplies, their condition is rapidly deteriorating.

The plight of the Turkmen in Amerli has not been widely been publicized, despite the severity of their situation. The lack of recognition on the behalf of the international community to the plight of the Turkmen in Amerli was evidenced by the latest plenary session and resolution of the European Parliament on the situation in Iraq. While the European Parliament took important steps to officially acknowledging the situation facing minorities in IS-occupied Iraq, their resolution on the situation in Iraq (2014/2716(RSP)) made no specific mention of the Iraqi Turkmen, despite their being among the worst affected. The atrocities facing the Christians were rightly acknowledged and condemned and yet the equally devastating hardships endured by the Iraqi Turkmen were overlooked by the European Parliament.

In this context, UNPO appeals to the European Parliament and the international community as a whole to acknowledge the plight of the Turkmen in Iraq and not to overlook the situation in the town of Amerli, which risks turning into an unmitigated disaster for its 20,000 inhabitants. Without immediate action, the 20,000 people in Amerli face no foreseeable end to their hardships; the numbers of sick and injured will continue to grow and with no healthcare and sanitation and little food and water, there is little that can be done for them without outside help. It is a desperate situation that requires immediate and concrete action on behalf of the international community.

- See more at: http://www.unpo.org/article/17373#sthash.QDQsWRVr.dpuf

Turkmens in Iraq expect same sensitivity toward them as to Gazans

Turkmens expect same sensitivity toward them as to Gazans

Thousands of Turkmens, who have been forced to flee from the Islamic State, have been living in tent cities or in the open in desert areas west of Arbil.(Photo: DHA)

July 26, 2014, Saturday/ 17:00:00/ AYDIN ALBAYRAK / ANKARA

Turkmens in Iraq, who have been driven away from their homes by the terrorist Islamic State, are disappointed in the Turkish government, which has failed to show the same sensitivity to their plight that it did to the Palestinians under Israeli attack in Gaza.

“Unfortunately, I do not think the government has displayed towards the Turkmens of Tal Afar the [same] sensitivity it displayed towards Gaza. I can't make any sense of this,” Mehmet Tütüncü, chairman of the İstanbul-based Iraqi Turks Culture and Mutual Aid Society (ITKYD), told Sunday's Zaman.

Hundreds of Turkmens have been killed by the terrorists of the Islamic State in Iraq during its ongoing bloody campaign in the civil war-torn country since the terrorist organization captured Mosul in the first half of June. The organization, the members of which declare themselves to be Muslim, ruthlessly kills anyone whose religious practices differ from theirs, such as Shiite Muslims.

Noting that Turkmens in Iraq were almost left to their own devices against the Islamic State threat, Tütüncü, obviously deeply frustrated, said, “I feel this might be caused by the fact that our executioners are also self-proclaimed Muslims or that the victims [in our case] are of Turkish descent.”

Tütüncü's comment clearly reveals that, unlike many people in Turkey, he does not take members of the Islamic State for Muslims, as the terrorist organization is known to have brutally butchered people who do not share its religious views. His reference to “Turkish descent” is an indication that he has the impression, like so many in the opposition in Turkey, that the government, and particularly Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has very rarely said “Turkish nation” in his speeches during his past 11 years in power, is allergic to all that is connected with the Turkish identity.

At the beginning of the week Turkey declared a three-day period of mourning for Palestinian victims killed in the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Erdoğan lashed out at Israel for its brutal attack against Gaza, noting that nearly 600 people, more than 100 of whom are children, were killed in the attacks.

In sharp contrast, Erdoğan has rarely talked about the plight of the Turkmens, a couple of hundred thousand of whom under the Islamic State attack had to leave the cities and villages in which they lived in Iraq, over the past two months.

Erdoğan has also never described the Islamic State, which is an al-Qaeda splinter group and was previously called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as terrorists. The terrorist group has kept 49 Turkish citizens, including Turkish Consul-General in Mosul Öztürk Yılmaz, hostage since it seized Turkey's consulate in Mosul in June.

Turkey has so far just provided humanitarian aid to the Turkmens, most of whom live in tent cities or in the open under the harsh summer sun. Dozens of children have died due to thirst, disease or scorpion bites by living out on the open land. Turkmens in Iraq have been forced by the Islamic State into the biggest mass migration since the founding of Iraq following World War I.

Following the seizure of Mosul the Islamic State terrorists captured the mainly ethnic Turkmen city of Tal Afar, which has an estimated population of approximately 400,000 people, in northwestern Iraq on June 16. Shiite Turkmens make up around half the population of the city, while Sunni Turkmens together with Arabs make up the other half. Around 200,000 people reportedly fled the town and hundreds of Turkmens were killed by the Islamic State when the terrorist group seized the city.

Tütüncü, who has been in Turkey for more than 20 years, sounds somewhat frustrated by the attitude of the religious people in Turkey who -- rightfully, Tütüncü emphasized -- protested against Israel for its attack against Gaza during the week. “We expect religious people to also display for Turkmens one-tenth of the sensitivity they show Gaza. Turkmens are also Muslims,” he said. Complaining that the media has not been sufficiently sensitive to their plight either, he says, “Turkmen are disappointed.”

The leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC), Erşad Salihi, said at a press conference in Kirkuk in the first week of July that the number of displaced Turkmens who had fled the Islamic State threat in various towns amounted to more than 300,000. “Turkmens struggle to live in makeshift tents, in partly constructed buildings, at the roadside,” Salihi said, although he thanked Turkey for the humanitarian aid it has provided for the Turkmens.

Members of opposition parties also harshly criticized the government during a discussion in Parliament over the past week, for its lack of sensitivity towards the Turkmen's hardship. Sinan Oğan, a deputy from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), lashed out at the government during a debate in Parliament for not taking proper care of Turkmens in Iraq, noting that there are Turkmen children who recently died of hunger. Oğan added: “Why is your government so hostile to [all that is connected with] Turks?” Yusuf Halaçoğlu, deputy chairman of the MHP parliamentary group, in the same session of Parliament demanded: “You declare a three-day mourning period for Gaza, but why don't you also declare a period of mourning for Turkmens?”

In a report that appeared in the Hürriyet Daily News during the week, Eyat Suttu, a 35-year-old Turkmen of Tal Afar, said: “There is always someone to look after Kurds and Arabs in Iraq, but there is no one to look after the Turkmens.” Noting that Turks were calling Tal Afar “Little İstanbul,” Suttu went on to express his frustration towards Turkey, saying, “Why doesn't Turkey take care of us now?” According to the report, Suttu's wife had been seriously ill for five days but he had not been able to bring her to a hospital, as the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga had not let them enter Arbil. Turkmens are not being allowed to enter Arbil by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), various reports had earlier confirmed.

Turkmens, the third most populous ethnic group in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds, are unable to protect themselves, as they do not have a security force of their own as the Kurds. Despite Turkey's excellent relations with the KRG in Iraq, Kurdish peshmerga forces did not take action before the terrorist attack against Tal Afar, but instead reportedly demanded that Turkmens in Tal Afar lay down all their weapons if they wanted the peshmerga to intervene to protect the town.

Nejat Kevseroğlu, editor-in-chief of the Türkmeneli daily in Kirkuk, confirmed that dozens of children had died due to the tough living conditions Turkmens are exposed to. Although Kevseroğlu, who is also a writer, made a point of thanking the Turkish government for the humanitarian aid sent so far for the Turkmens, his remarks revealed he also felt a little disappointed by the inequality in the government's attitude in embracing Gaza, and its comparative “indifference” to the plight of Turkmens in Iraq.

“Our wish is that the [Turkish] government would have the same attitude to us [as it has towards Gaza]. That would help us save ourselves from danger. We would also be happy if Turkey were to display towards us half the sensitivity it expressed for Gaza,” he said.

Turkmens call on Turkey to push for the establishment of a secure zone in Tal Afar, as Kurds were provided with during the first US attack against Iraq in 1991, so that they may feel safe. According to Kevseroğlu, 

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-353991-turkmens-expect-same-sensitivity-toward-them-as-to-gazans.html“Turkmens are faced with the threat of death.” 

Iraqi Turkmens ‘left for dead’ in desert

İpek Yezdani - ARBIL

ipek.yezdani@hurriyet.com.tr

Thousands of Turkmen refugees who fled ISIL violence in Telafer are being abandoned to their fate under 50 degrees of hot weather in the desert

Hürriyet Photo, Selçuk Şamiloğlu

A humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in Iraq as Turkmens who fled the advance of the feared Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are now succumbing to the region’s scorching summer sun as refugees. And with death approaching, many refugees are apoplectic at Turkey and Kurdistan’s indifference to their plight.

“There is always someone to look after Kurds and Arabs in Iraq, but there is no one to look after Turkmens. Turks were calling Telafer ‘Little Istanbul;’ why doesn’t Turkey take care of us now?” said Eyat Suttu, 35, noting that said his wife had been seriously ill for five days but that he had not been able to bring her to a hospital because the Iraqi Kurdish peshmarga had not let them enter Arbil.   

“We are going to die here under the sun in the dust. Just kill all of us at once and this torture will be finished for all of us,” he said. 

On June 15, ISIL, who had recently renamed itself as the Islamic State (IS), seized the control of the northern Iraqi city of Telafer, a largely Turkmen city.  

Thousands of Shiite Turkmens first fled to the northwestern city of Sinjar in order to flee to either Kirkuk, Baghdad, Karbala of Najaf. However, they have been kept waiting for days in 50-degree weather in the desert by peshmarga forces at the Hazer security checkpoint just outside Arbil. 

Hazer is the main security checkpoint between Arbil and ISIL-controlled Mosul. Outside the checkpoint, there are thousands of people from new-born babies to the elderly, who have been trying to survive in tents which they have made from blankets in the desert heat.

Small children and elderly people die every day because of the intense heat, according to refugees waiting at the checkpoint.

‘We buried three children’

Mahsoun Habil Muhsin, 35, escaped from Telafer with his wife and five children. “We have been suffering here for a week. The peshmarga doesn’t allow us to enter Arbil. Our children are dying because of the heat and diseases. We buried two old women and three children yesterday. There are new-born babies in the camp and they could die at any minute,” Muhsin said.    

The only area Shiite Turkmens think they can take shelter in in northern Iraq is the peshmarga-controlled city of Kirkuk. 

“When ISIL attacked Telafer, we have fled to Sinjar on June 16. But there was no food or water there. So we had to leave Sinjar and come here. However, the peshmarga keeps us waiting here. Why don’t they let us go? We are Turkish, why doesn’t Turkey take care of us?” Muhsin added. 

Hidir Suleiman, 42, who used to be an elementary school teacher in Telafer, fled to Hazer with his nine children. “We left everything we had behind. We didn’t even take our ID cards. Elderly people died on the road. Our wives and children are dying here. We just want to get out of here, we don’t want anything else. Just save us and allow us to enter a town in Turkey,” he said. 

Thousands of Turkmens stay in the storage as hot as oven

In addition to Turkmens who have been kept waiting at the Hazer checkpoint, there are also thousands more who have been living inside an empty storage in Arbil. They are being sent to Baghdad, Najaf or Karbala in small number of groups by plane once a week.

Inside the storage, it is much hotter than outside. They have divided the storage into three- to five-square-meter rooms with blankets for each family. There are at least 10 people staying in every room. 

Fazil Muhammad, a hammersmith from Telafer, fled Arbil with nine people from his family. “We had had clashes with ISIL for three days, and then the Iraqi army brigade who came from Baghdad fought against them for a week. Then ISIL started to bomb the town. Gen. Abu Walid withdrew his soldiers. We had to run away too. We have been staying here for 30 days, we are waiting to be sent to southern Iraq,” he said. 

‘ISIL killed all those left behind’

Hadi Hasan, who came to the storage a week ago, said ISIL had killed all the Shiites who were not able to flee and who were left behind in Telafer. 

“They killed even 40-day-old babies and the elderly. They have blasted all the Shiite mosques. They even killed the animals, cows and sheep. We didn’t have time to bury some of the bodies.” 

Zeynep Ali Ekber, 25, said ISIL militants took away 20 people including her father and her brother from the Bekkekut village of Telafer. “They have arrested many from the other Shiite villages. We haven’t heard from them since then,” she said.

July/22/2014

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iraqi-turkmens-left-for-dead-in-desert.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69432&NewsCatID=352

TURKMEN VILLAGE OF BESHIR IN NORTHERN IRAQ (VIDEO)

Post by ‎بشير TV‎.

IRAK TÜRKMENLERİNDEN BİRLEŞMİŞ MİLLETLER GENEL SEKRETERİNE KUZEY IRAK'TA GÜVENLİ BÖLGE TESİSİ İÇİN S.O.S. VE ACİL BAŞVURU

 TURKISH TRANSLATION OF THE LETTER WHICH WAS SENT TO THE U.N.

For the original text in English please see: http://merryabla64.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/iraqi-turkmens-appeal-to-the-united-nations-to-establish-a-safe-haven-for-the-turkmens-in-iraq/

IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT

European Representation

Brussels-Belgium

Ekselansları, Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Sekreteri, Bay Ban Ki Moon'nun acil dikkatine

IRAK TÜRKMENLERİNDEN BİRLEŞMİŞ MİLLETLER GENEL SEKRETERİNE KUZEY IRAK'TA GÜVENLİ BÖLGE TESİSİ İÇİN S.O.S. VE ACİL BAŞVURU

Sayın Ekselansları

Ben, Irak Türkmen Cephesinin Avrupa Birliğinde ki Temsilcisi olarak ve Irak'ta ki üçüncü büyük etnik gurup olan, Araplar ve Kürtler ile birlikte Irak halkının omurgasını teşkil eden üç ana toplumdan biri olan Irak Türkmenleri adına, Irak Türkmenlerinin ISIS/IŞİD (Irak Şam İslam Devleti) adlı terör örgütünün 9 haziran 2014 tarihinden beri Kuzey Irak'ı istila etmesi üzerine bugünlerde yaşadıkları korkunç trajik duruma ve karşılaştıkları feci zorluklara dikkatinizi çekmek için bu mektubu size yazıyorum. 

O günden beri ISIS/IŞİD terör örgütü saldırılarını katlayıp istilasını Kuzey Irak'a doğru hızla yaymakta, Irak silahlı birliklerinin konuşlandıkları Kuzey Irak'ta ki dört (Musul, Kerkük, Salaheddin ve Diyala) ilden beklenmedik ve şaşırtan geri çekilişinden doğan boşluk nedeniyle anılan vilayetlerin kısmen ISIS/IŞİD ve Kürt peşmergeler tarafından istilasını kolaylaştırmaktadır.  

Gerçekte Kurt Pesmerge, ya terör örgütü ISIS/IŞİD ile önceden anlaşarak ya da şans eseri Irak hükümet güçlerinin Irak'ın kuzeyinde ki mevcut zayıflığından faydalanarak Kürt peşmergeler kuvvetlerini Kürt özerk bölgesinin ötesinde Kerkük, Musul, Salaheddin ve Diyala illerinde ki sözde "ihtilaflı toprakları" işgal ve kontrol etmek için hızla ilerletmişlerdir. Peşmerge kuvvetleri şimdi Kuzey Irak'ın Türkmen bölgesinin (Türkmeneli) neredeyse tamamını işgal etmekte ve anılan dört vilayette ki Türkmen kasabalarını ve şehirleri kontrol etmektedirler.

ISIS/IŞİD bir hafta önce Musul'u istila ettikten sonra Musul ilinde ki en büyük Türkmen kasabası Telafer'e saldırarak yüzden fazla Türkmen'i öldürmüş ve birkaç yüzünü de yaralamıştır. 200.000 nüfuslu Telafer kasabasının, çoğunluğu kadınlar, çocuklar ve yaşlılardan oluşan halkı kesif bombardıman altında şehri terk etmişlerdir. Kavurucu çöl sıcağında ki bu savunmasız halk barınak, su ve gıda bulmada büyük güçlük çekmektedirler. Onlardan Kürt bölgesine sığınma arayışında olan bazılarının talepleri ret edilmiştir.

  

ISIS/IŞİD; Kerkük ilinde ki Hawija ve Tikrit kasabalarını kontrol altına aldıktan sonra Kerkük, Salaheddin ve Diyala illerinin Türkmen bölgesine geçip bu illerde ki Beşir, Biravceli, Salman Pak, Kara Tepe, Jalawla gibi Türkmen kasabalarına ve Türkmen Bayat kabilelerine ait olan birkaç köye de saldırıp işgal etmişlerdir.

ISIS/IŞİD işgal ettiği bu Türkmen yerleşimlerinin her birinde, işkence, tecavüz, genç kızları kaçırma, Türkmen mülklerini yağmalama ve ayırım gözetmeksizin kadınları, adamları ve çocukları toplu öldürerek insanlığa karşı suç işlemektedirler.

Irak'ta ki bütün bölgelerde yerleşik Türkmenleri Irak ordusunun koruyacağına dair güvence veren Irak hükümeti tarafından Irak'ta ki Türkmenlere ihanet edilmiştir.  

Kerkük ilini savunma ve korumadan sorumlu 12nci Irak tümeninin, tüm silahlarını ve malzemelerini bırakarak bulunduğu mevkii beklenmedik bir şekilde terk etmiştir.

Kürt peşmerge Kerkük ilini ISIS/IŞİD saldırılarına karşı savunmak üzere bölgeyi devralmış ve Irak ordusunun terk ettikleri silahlara el koymuştur.   

Maalesef, ISIS/IŞİD Beşir'e saldırdığında peşmerge kuvvetleri, az sayıda silahlanmış Türkmen halkını kendi köylerini savunma zorunda bırakarak, Beşir çevresinde ki konumlarını terk etmişlerdir. Türkmenler mühimmatları bitinceye kadar ellerinden geldiğince direnmişlerdir. ISIS/IŞİD köyü ele geçirmiş ve köy halkı yerlerini terk etmişlerdir, fakat maalesef hepsi başarılı olamamıştır. En azından düzinelerce kişi öldürülmüş, 30 kişiden fazlası yaralanmış ve bir çoğu hala kayıptır, bunlar ya ölüdürler ya da köyde mahsur kalmışlardır.

ISIS/IŞİD aynı insanlık suçlarını, çoğunluğu kadın ve çocuklardan oluşan 23 Türkmen'i öldürdükleri, Salaheddin ilinde ki Türkmen yerleşimi Biravceli'de işlemişlerdir.

Yukarıdakiler Kuzey Irak'ta kendi kasabalarında, şehirlerinde ve köylerinde silahsız Türkmenlere yapılanlardan bir kaç örnektir.

2003 yılından beri Türkmenler sürekli hedef olmuşlar ve saldırılmışlardır. Öldürülmüşler, yaralanmışlar, fidye için rehin alınmışlar ve mülkleri yağmalanmışlar veya yakılmışlar ve politik liderleri suikasta uğramışlardır.  

Yukarıda anlatılan görünümüyle, Irak'ta ki Türkmen toplumunun hayatta kalması açıkça söz konusudur. Ülkenin mevcut sorunlu durumunda tüm Irak'ta ki, bilhassa Kuzey Irak'ta ki, Türkmenler bir etnik temizlik ve potansiyel soykırımla karşı karşıyadırlar.

Bu nedenle Irak Türkmenleri; Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Sekreteri, Bay Ban Ki Moon'u, 1991 - 2003 yılları arasında Irak Kürtlerine sağlandığı gibi Türkmenlere de Kuzey Irak'ta emniyetli bir yaşam sağlamak suretiyle Türkmenlere yardım etmelerini ve onları potansiyel bir soy kırımından korumak için sonuna kadar çaba sarf etmelerini acilen talep ederler

Ayrıca Türkmenler Birleşmiş Milletlerden ISIS suçlularını Irak merkezi yönetiminde ki ve sözü edilen dört vilayetin yöresel yönetimlerinde ki, Türkmenleri savunmasız ve korumasız bırakarak ihanet eden sorumlular ila birlikte Uluslar Arası Suçlular Mahkemesinde yargılanması huşunu acilen talep ederler.  

Saygılarımla

Dr. Hassan Aydinli

Irak Türkmen Cephesi AB'de ki Temsilcisi

Brussels, 21st June 2014.

Selective treatment for IDPs in Kurdistan

Photo: Ahmed Ali/IRIN

Khazair camp is home to thousands of displaced Iraqis

ERBIL, 16 July 2014 (IRIN) - Concern is growing over how the semi-autonomous government of Iraqi Kurdistan is managing its borders amid reports that vulnerable families seeking refuge are being refused entry or forced into transit camps along ethnic lines.

In the days after militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), seized control of Iraq’s second city Mosul in early June, some 500,000 Iraqis of varying ethnicities streamed into the northern Kurdistan region seeking shelter in a mix of hotels, mosques, schools and parks.

However, in recent weeks, aid workers say that access has been tightened and fewer displaced people are being allowed in.

According to NGO staff working at the border, checkpoints are regularly closed and thousands of people are kept waiting for long periods - in some instances up to five days - without information and with limited access to shelter, food and water.

There is also, rights groups say, a trend of different access rules being applied based on people’s ethnicity and religion: Kurds and Christians, or those who have sponsors inside Kurdistan, are able to pass relatively easily, but generally Sunni and Shia Arabs and Turkomen are being stopped or sent to temporary holding sites.

A senior aid worker from an international NGO, who declined to be named due to the “extreme sensitivities” of the issue, said: “The blocking of entry to people along ethnic lines is an issue and it needs to be looked at.”

TURKEY HAS TO PROTECT IRAQI AND SYRIAN TURKMENS

TURKEY HAS TO PROTECT IRAQI AND 

SYRIAN TURKMENS

İlnur Çevik12 July 2014, Saturday


As the Iraqi situation takes a turn for the worse, the plight of the Turkmens of Iraq, whether they
are Shiite or Sunni, is surpassing crisis dimensions and needs the urgent attention of Turkey.


This is a complicated situation. The Turkmens are scattered throughout the central and northern
sectors of Iraq mostly around the Kirkuk and Mosul areas. They are now running away from
the malice created by religious extremists called the Islamic State for Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS),
and there are reports that the number of Turkmen refugees has reached the 350,000s.


What is sad is that while Shiite Arab refugees, Sunni Arab refugees and Kurds can find safe
heaven for themselves, the Turkmens of Iraq, be it Shiite or Sunni, are left on their own to face
an uncertain future. Ankara has been using its good offices in Iraq to provide some relief for
the Turkmens, but it is seriously insufficient.


Meanwhile, the process of the disintegration of Iraq is progressing. The rift between the Kurds
and Baghdad is deepening. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused the Kurds of
cooperating with the Sunni extremists and has gone as far as to say Masoud Barzani has
given facilities to ISIS in Irbil. Maliki has said his forces will take back Kirkuk and the other
disputed areas taken over by the Kurds after Iraqi army units fled these locations in view of
ISIS attacks. Barzani has replied that they will never give up the disputed lands. There is
talk that the Kurds are pulling their people out of Baghdad, including their ministers in the
central government and their parliamentarians. The Kurds have also said they will take legal
action against oil companies that are buying Iraqi oil, as the central government does not
pay them the share of oil revenues that is earmarked in the Iraqi budget.



Meanwhile, the ISIS forces are continuing to make gains against Maliki's forces, while
the political situation in Baghdad deteriorates with the parliament paralyzed after failure
to convene repeated times. There are also divisions in the Shiite bloc as there are growing
calls for a new government without Maliki. But time is running out for Iraq as fighting
continues and a kind of meaningful resolution of the crisis seems distant.

Everything points to a gradual disintegration of Iraq. So amid this tragic picture there are
 urgent decisions to be made and steps to be taken by Ankara.


First, we have to decide what our position will be to the Kurds declaring an independent
state in Irbil. Will we accept the Kurdish declaration and demand clarifications on the
status of Kirkuk? What will be our conditions to accept Kurdish independence?


Secondly, we have to create and secure a safe haven even today for the Turkmens in
Iraqi territory by putting pressure on the Kurds and the Arab Sunnis. We have the oil card
as a strong leverage and our close ties with Barzani to make this work. Then of course we
have to convince the Turkmens to move to this safe haven and create their own autonomous
zone or maybe even a Turkmen state in Iraq. It is crucial that Ankara steps in and acts quickly.



Thirdly, we have to pay attention to the plight of the Turkmens in Syria and see that their
interests are also served. It is true that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is now busy
with his presidential campaign, but he has to take time off for the Turkmens of Iraq. Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who is a man of strategy, should be able to contribute in this
mission along with National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Chief Hakan Fidan.


http://www.dailysabah.com/columns/ilnur-cevik/2014/07/12/turkey-has-to-protect-iraqi-and-syrian-turkmens

THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF TURKMENS, IRAQ'S THIRD MAIN ETHNIC COMMUNITY

THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF IRAQ’S THIRD MAIN ETHNIC COMMUNITY: 

THE TURKMENS

There are over 350.000 internally displaced Turkmens in Iraq since June 2014, they fled from their cities and villages which were attacked by ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham) in June, many were killed and wounded. 

After attacking  and occupying Mosul city on 9th June 2014, ISIS attacked Tel Afer, the largest Turkmen city in the province of Mosul.

When ISIS moved to the Turkmen inhabited region of  Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala provinces, they attacked the Turkmen towns and villages situated in these provinces:Bashir, Biravceli, Bastamli, Chardaghli, Kara Tepe, Salman Pak, Jalawla and several villages belonging to the Turkmen Bayat tribes.

Please click on the link below to read the S.O.S. AND URGENT APPEAL FROM THE IRAQI TURKMENS TO THE UNITED NATIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SAFE HAVEN FOR THE TURKMENS IN THE NORTH OF IRAQ

http://turkmenfriendship.blogspot.be/2014/07/appeal-from-iraqi-turkmen-front-to.html

MAP OF IRAQ ( THE REGION INHABITED BY TURKMENS ‘Turkmeneli’ IS INDICATED IN BLUE)

 THE TURKMENS’ VOICES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN STIFLED IN IRAQ
The history of the Turkmens in Iraq is one of continuous sufferings since the establishment of the Iraqi State in 1921.
Turkmens should be amongst the wealthiest people on earth,  their region Turkmeneli,
is rich in oil, gas, and their agricultural lands are very fertile.
Unfortunately their region continues to be coveted by Arabs and Kurds.

Turkmens do not have armed militias, they are an easy target.

 The dramatic situation of the internally displaced Turkmens

The Internally Displaced Turkmens in Iraq will never be able to return to their cities and villages which are now de facto occupied and controlled by ISIS and/or by their Sunni Arab allies, or by the  Kurdish Peshmerga.
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The Turkmens who are transferred to the south of Iraq will be arabised while those who remain in the north of Iraq will be kurdified.
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The Kurds, taking advantage of the weakness of the Iraqi government,  advanced their forces beyond the Kurdish autonomous region. Kurdish Peshmerga forces are now de facto occupying the Turkmen region in the north of Iraq (called TURKMENELI)  they control almost all Turkmen cities and towns in the four provinces in the north of Iraq (Mosul, Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala).  
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The majority of Sunni Arabs in the north of Iraq support ISIS, they did not try to resist when ISIS attacked Mosul.
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Turkmen IDPs have lost everything, their houses were looted after they were forced to flee to save their lives. They are now homeless and landless.
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 Photos of  Turkmens in Iraq  fleeing their cities and villages after being attacked by ISIS (in June 2014).

 Trying to protect themselves from the scorching heat

Photo above: Turkmens fleeing from Tel Afer (a Turkmen city in the north west of Iraq) under heavy shelling by ISIS

Turkmens were taken to transit camps by trucks

Hereunder, photos taken at one of the Transit camps (situated in the Kurdish Autonomous Region - Baharka camp, 10 km from Erbil city)

11th July, 2014 -BAHARKA Transit Camp : After waiting for several days in the scorching heat, with hardly any water and food, 5.000 Internally Displaced Turkmens arriving from Tel Afer (a Turkmen city in the north west of Iraq) were finally allowed to enter Erbil.
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They are now in Baharka Transit Camp (10 km north of Erbil ) which is an old warehouse. But their ordeal is far from over, the living conditions there are appalling. The place is very dirty, very hot (48°C) and there is no sanitation infrastructure and no medical help.
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Almost all of the IDPs had to stop several times before arriving to Baharka , with on average each IDP family stopping 5 times.
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Over half of the IDPs relying on their own savings to meet their basic needs reported that it would last only one week. The remaining  reported that they had no means to support their families.

UNHCR help has not yet reached these IDPs.
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Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Executive Board Members Messrs Ali Mehdi and Aydin Maruf, and ITF Erbil  representative Mr. Dilsat Terzi, delivered some humanitarian assistance to the IDPs.
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The Turkish Relief Organization UKBA (Uluslararasi Kardeşlik Banş ve Ahlak Vakfi) International Brotherhood, Peace and Moral Foundation, also provided assistance to the IDPs.
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There is an urgent need for baby milk and diapers. There are not enough mattresses. Many people are sleeping on the floor outside the warehouse. Children are suffering from diarrhoea and dehydration.

The Internally Displaced   Turkmens of this Transit camp near Erbil are waiting to be flown to  NAJAF in the South of Iraq.
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More IDPs are on their way to this Transit camp…

We had reports today that 13 IDPs, including children,  have died between Mosul and Erbil because of lack of food and water.

 A father trying to cool his baby (babies are the first to suffer from dehydration in this temperature of  48°C).

 The whereabouts of many Turkmen IDPs is still  unknown.

 Note: According to a report from  OCHA (United Nations OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS), Iraq is now contending with one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world; over 1.2 million have been displaced since January 2014. Since the fall of Mosul on 9th June 2014, armed opposition groups (AOGs), including Baathists, tribal militias and members of the former regime/military, along with the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS), have taken control of large swathes of Iraq’s provinces.

Water being delivered by the Turkmen community of Erbil  to the Turkmen children (of Tel Afer) at Camp Baharka  near Erbil – Apart from two Turkish Aid Agencies and the Iraqi Turkmen Front, no one is providing humanitarian help to the poor IDPs.

Exhausted Turkmen IDPs trying to find a place in the shade (Temperature in June, July and August reaches 50°C in Iraq)

An employee of a Turkish Humanitairian Aid Agency trying to comfort an exhausted refugee..
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Hereunder : URGENT APPEAL FROM THE IRAQI TURKMENS’ EU REPRESENTATIVE ADDRESSED TO THE UNITED NATIONS 

IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT

European Representation

Brussels-Belgium

For the urgent attention of The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon

S.O.S. AND URGENT APPEAL FROM THE IRAQI TURKMENS TO THE UNITED NATIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SAFE HAVEN FOR TURKMENS IN THE NORTH OF IRAQ.

Your Excellency,

As the representative of the Iraqi Turkmen front in the European Union and on behalf of the Iraqi Turkmens, who constitute  Iraq’s  third largest ethnic group and one of the three  main communities forming  the backbone of the Iraqi people with the Arabs and Kurds, I am writing to you in order to bring to your attention the grave situation the Turkmens are facing in the north of Iraq after the attacks and the invasion of Mosul city by the terrorist organization ‘ISIS’(the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham) on the 9th of June 2014.

Since then, the terrorist organization ISIS has multiplied its attacks and extended its invasion to the north of Iraq rapidly because of the unexpected and astonishing sudden withdrawal of the Iraqi army divisions from their positions in the four provinces in the north of Iraq (Mosul, Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala), leaving a vacuum and facilitating the partial occupation of these provinces by ISIS and by the Kurdish Peshmerga.

Indeed, the Kurdish Peshmerga, either in prior agreement with the terrorist organization  ISIS or opportunistically taking advantage of the present weakness of the Iraqi government forces in the north of Iraq, have quickly advanced their forces beyond the Kurdish autonomous region to occupy and control the so-called ‘contested territories’ in the provinces of  Kirkuk, Mosul, Salaheddin and Diyala. The Kurdish Peshmerga forces are now de facto occupying almost all the Turkmen region in the north of Iraq (Türkmeneli) and controlling almost all Turkmen cities and towns in these four provinces.

After occupying Mosul city, ISIS attacked Telafer, the largest Turkmen city in the province of Mosul, killing over one hundred Turkmens and wounding several hundreds of them, 200.000 Turkmen inhabitants of Telafer, mainly women, children and elderly people fled the city under heavy shelling. These defenceless people are facing huge difficulties to find shelter, water and food, they are in the desert under scorching heat. Some of them have been denied entry to the Kurdish region where they were seeking refuge.

ISIS after establishing its control on Mosul moved forward to the south and took control of Tikrit, the capital of the Salaheddin province and of the town of Hawija, the largest Sunni Arab town in Kirkuk province where they took control without any resistance neither from the central government forces nor from the local authorities because of the sudden withdrawal of the Iraqi army divisions from their positions in these provinces as mentioned earlier.

After controlling Tikrit and Hawija , ISIS  moved to the Turkmen region of Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala provinces and attacked the Turkmen towns and villages situated  in these provinces such as Bashir, Biravceli, Bastamli,  Chardaghli, Kara Naz, Kara Tepe, Salman Pak, Jalawla and several villages belonging to the Turkmen Bayat tribes.

In each of these Turkmen localities ISIS has committed crimes against humanity, torturing, raping, kidnapping young girls, looting Turkmens’ properties and mass killing indiscriminately women, men and children.

The Turkmens in Iraq have been betrayed by the Iraqi government who assured them that the Iraqi army would protect the Turkmens in the entire Turkmen region in the north of Iraq.

The 12th division of the Iraqi army which was supposed to defend and protect Kirkuk province, unexpectedly abandoned its position, leaving all its weapons and equipment behind.

The Kurdish Peshmerga took over the area and confiscated the weapons which were abandoned by the Iraqi army. The Peshmerga were supposed to protect and defend Kirkuk province from ISIS attacks.

Unfortunately, when ISIS encircled and attacked the village of Beshir (situated some 30 km south west of Kirkuk)  the Peshmerga forces abandoned their position around Beshir, leaving the poorly armed Turkmen inhabitants on their own to defend their village. They resisted as long as they could until they ran out of ammunition.  ISIS conquered the village and the inhabitants fled, but unfortunately not all of them succeeded.  Dozens of people were killed, more than 30 were wounded and a large number of them are still missing, they are either dead or still trapped inside the village.

ISIS has committed the same crimes in the Turkmen locality of Biravceli, in Salaheddin province, where they killed 23 defenceless Turkmens, most of them women and children.

The above are just a few examples of what is happening to the unarmed and unprotected Turkmens in  their towns, cities and villages in the north of Iraq.

Since 2003, Turkmens have been continuously targeted and attacked. They have been killed, wounded, kidnapped for ransom, their properties have been looted or burned and their political leaders have been assassinated.

In view of the above, it is clear that the survival of the Turkmen community in Iraq is at stake. They are facing ethnic cleansing and a potential genocide in the present day troubled situation of the country.

Therefore, Iraqi Turkmens urge the General Secretary of the United Nations to do his utmost to come to the help of the Turkmens to protect them by providing a safe haven for them in the north of Iraq, similar to the safe haven the UN provided for the Kurds of Iraq from 1991 to 2003.

Furthermore, Turkmens urge the United Nations to bring the criminals from ISIS as well as those responsible in the Iraqi central government and local authorities in these provinces who betrayed the Turkmens by leaving them without defence and protection to the International Criminal Court to be judged.

Yours respectfully,

Dr. Hassan Aydinli

Iraqi Turkmen Front EU representative

Brussels, 21st June 2014.