Security forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government have unlawfully destroyed large numbers of Arab homes, and sometimes entire villages, in areas retaken from Daesh, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Sunday.

The 80-page report, “Marked With An ‘X’: Iraqi Kurdish Forces’ Destruction of Villages, Homes in Conflict with ISIS,” looked at destruction of homes between September 2014 and May 2016 in disputed areas of Kirkuk and Nineveh governorates, areas nominally under Iraqi government jurisdiction but under Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) control. The destruction, which took place after KRG Peshmerga forces routed Daesh fighters, targeted Arab homes while leaving Kurdish homes intact. KRG leaders have maintained that these are historically Kurdish areas that they intend to incorporate into the Kurdistan region.

Human Rights Watch documented additional cases of unlawful home demolitions carried out in late October 2016. Details appear at the end of the news release.

“In village after village in Kirkuk and Nineveh, KRG security forces destroyed Arab homes – but not those belonging to Kurds – for no legitimate military purpose,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “KRG leaders’ political goals don’t justify demolishing homes illegally.”

At a time when Peshmerga forces are driving Daesh from villages on the outskirts of the major Iraqi city of Mosul, the United States and other members of the US-led coalition should insist that KRG leaders and Peshmerga officers end these unlawful attacks, Human Rights Watch said.

The report is based on field visits by Human Rights Watch researchers, more than 120 interviews with witnesses and officials, and extensive analysis of satellite imagery. Human Rights Watch closely examined home demolitions in 17 villages in Kirkuk governorate and four in Nineveh governorate, and traveled through other destroyed villages in Nineveh, close to the Syrian border.

Of these 21 towns and villages, Human Rights Watch visited 13 that bore signs of significant destruction. In all but three, at least half the buildings were rubble, and seven were empty of residents. For the other 62 villages and towns, satellite imagery shows significant destruction consistent with the use of fire, heavy machinery, and high explosives, distinct in appearance from destruction resulting from air strikes and heavy ground fire prior to Daesh’s retreat from these locations, but a lack of witness accounts does not allow for definitive conclusions about the circumstances of and responsibility for destruction in these locations.

Source: MENA