Kurdish Refugees from Iran Are Now Displaced in Iraqi Kurdistan

Families in Koya meeting together with a member of CPT, who is wearing a red vest.

On September 28, 2022, the Iranian military launched approximately 70 missiles on three refugee camps in Koya city in Iraqi Kurdistan. These camps were established for Iranian Kurds in 1995 who fled from their hometowns in eastern Kurdistan due to the Iranian regime's oppression to three refugee camps near Koya in Iraqi Kurdistan. Approximately 600 families were living in the camps before September 28. Now the camps have been evacuated and the families are displaced.

The Iranian authorities’ excuse for bombing the camps is the presence of Kurdish opposition groups. Iran accuses these parties of being behind the current protests taking place in Kurdistan and Iran. The protests started after the death of Zhina Amini, the 22 years old Kurdish woman who was arrested in Tehran. Police beat Amini into a coma while she was in custody, she then died from her injuries in a hospital.

On October 12, members of Community Peacemaker Teams met with some of the displaced families in Koya.

Since the September 28 bombings, 280 students and 30 teachers are unable to return to school. The Directory of Education in Koya is responsible for providing a building for a school in Koya. A teacher told the team that the school was supposed to open on October 12, but it is unclear whether students will return to school anytime soon due to security reasons and the lack of protection for the students.