Kurdish refugee camp to be evacuated under Turkey, Iraq deal

Makhmour Camp, seen by Ankara as a PKK stronghold, will be emptied by September under a Turkey-Iraq-KRG peace agreement, sources say

A visitor at the Makhmour refugee camp near the Iraqi city of Erbil looks at photographs of guerillas killed during fighting, in August 2005 (Mustafa Ozer/AFP)

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Turkey, Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have reached an agreement to evacuate the Makhmour Camp in northern Iraq, according to regional sources speaking to Middle East Eye.

The development follows ongoing peace talks between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since last year, which culminated in the group’s announcement in May that it would disband and end its armed struggle.

As part of the arrangement, of which the PKK is also a party, the camp is expected to be fully evacuated by September, regional sources said.

Under the deal, some camp residents will be resettled within Iraq, while others will be relocated to Turkey. Individuals identified as close to the PKK but not implicated in criminal activity may be temporarily accommodated in Turkey.

The Makhmour refugee camp has long been a flashpoint between Ankara and Baghdad. Established in the 1990s, it currently houses more than 12,000 people, primarily Kurds from Turkey who fled their homes amid village evacuations and clashes between Turkish security forces and the PKK in the country’s southeast.

Ankara views the camp as a PKK stronghold, alleging it serves as a hub for recruitment, training and logistical support.

Turkish officials have maintained for years that the PKK’s influence and ideology dominate the camp, which lies in a disputed area between the Iraqi central government and the KRG. Turkey has repeatedly targeted the vicinity of the camp, claiming it shelters “armed terrorists”.

Regional sources told MEE that, in the medium term, the camp’s evacuation is expected to advance the PKK’s disarmament process and yield benefits for Iraq, the KRG and Turkey.

They added that the move would also help eliminate isolated areas under the control of non-state actors defying Iraqi sovereignty.

“During the evacuation, the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the Turkish Armed Forces will be present on the ground to oversee security measures and the resettlement process,” one regional source said.

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A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the existence of a trilateral coordination mechanism between Turkey, Iraq and the KRG but declined to comment on whether an explicit deal on Makhmour’s evacuation had been reached.

Earlier this month, Murat Karayilan, a senior PKK commander, told the media that the group had withdrawn its forces from the camp and handed over its positions to Iraqi authorities.

Karayilan accused Iraqi forces of pressuring the group to evacuate. “They are now tightening the siege from the same positions and putting pressure on our people," he said.