By Rebekah Dowling

On April 4th 2023, two civilians were killed by a Turkish airstrike while harvesting vegetables in the mountains near Shiladze.

*Ahmed Hussain’s father, son and wife. May, 2023 (CPT-IK)*

Ahmed Hussain kissed his mother on the cheek before he left. On April 3, he and Arif were on their way to collect some spring vegetables from the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. They lived in the Iraqi Kurdistan town of Shiladze, around 30km from the Turkish Border. Several empty villages lie in the area they were headed to. Places their families had originally lived but been forced to flee by the Turkish conflict with the PKK two years ago.

The borders of Turkey and Iraq are clearly marked, but the Turkish military makes frequent incursions over them and appears to show no distinction between guerrillas and civilians. Ahmed and Arif risked the trip back to their ancestral lands to make some money for their families to help celebrate Eid.

Their families waited nervously for their return. After six days, they finally approached the local government, sure by now that their loved ones had been killed. They were told they would need special permission to search for the bodies - otherwise they too might be killed.

The families sought permission from the local government, who coordinated with the army. The families also believe that the Turkish military was contacted for access permission. After eight days, they had permission, but it was another four before they were allowed to go. The government had negotiated with Turkey for 15 people to enter the area, with 12 hours to search. They were told where the bodies would most likely be and quickly headed off. All the while, drones circled overhead.

Within a few hours, they had found the bodies of the two men, 20 meters from each other, near one of the abandoned villages. The two hollows in the earth indicated they had been bombed separately. They had likely been killed on April 4th, 2023. From the positioning of Ahmed’s body, including a finger outstretched for reciting Tashahhud, they assume he was praying when he died.

Using UHF radios, they gathered everyone on the search to carry the bodies home.

Ahmed was a Peshmerga, but his primary career was building houses. The income he made supported his parents, his wife and children. Now they struggle to find another source of income as they grieve the loss of their husband, son and father.

Arif Omer and his wife Hayat have 14 children. When he left, he told them he was going to the mountains and would be back. Now they are left to live without him. “People need hope and joy in life, but we have nothing.” Arif’s brother stated bluntly.

After his death, the government stopped paying Arif’s salary and his son was left trying to provide for the family.

The Turkish military killed two unarmed civilians within the Iraqi Kurdistan border while they tried to gather spring vegetables from their ancestral lands. At this time, the devastated families have been left with no method of recourse from the Turkish or Kurdish Regional Governments, and the international community has remained largely silent.

CPT continues to condemn the attacks on civilians and is working to collect data and evidence from those affected to present to the Iraqi Central government.