Conflicting stories reveal depth of Iraq’s sectarian war

BARZANKE, Iraq — Unlike in nearby villages recently captured from the Islamic State (IS) by the armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), not a single villager has returned to Barzanke.

As I go from house to house, it becomes clear why: There is nothing for the residents to return to, as virtually all the houses have been destroyed or damaged by bombs or fighting. Most were evidently blown up from inside.

The peshmerga, as the KRG forces are called, offer conflicting explanations for the mass destruction. Some say that their own colleagues had blown up the houses because the villagers supported IS. Others say that IS fighters bombed all the houses before they left – a questionable narrative, as retreating militants did not destroy nearby Kurdish villages. Why would they destroy an Arab village? Other peshmerga say they had to blow up the houses because they were booby-trapped, and warn us not to go into the village because of other traps in the streets. There are also those who claim that the destruction was the result of fighting, even though no sign of battles in the village is evident; no pockmarked walls or spent munitions or cartridges.

The peshmerga’s actions betray their many explanations. One of their colleagues is walking around taking photos of the wrecks, and two large dogs are roaming the areas without setting off any explosives – clearly there are no booby traps.

As for the missing cartridges, one fighter claims they collected them so the returning residents wouldn’t see them. But even his own colleagues look puzzled by the explanation: Soldiers in an acute conflict situation do not usually waste time collecting harmless and useless spent munitions cartridges, all the more so in a place they claim is rigged with explosives.

The peshmerga give up trying to explain the wholesale destruction and shift to justifying it: The residents, Arab Sunni Muslims, were terrorists even before the Islamic State armed group had captured the village. They have gone with IS and will not come back, they say.

In nearby villages also recently recaptured by peshmerga forces, only the Kurdish residents have returned, and they are determined to keep it that way. The rhetoric is the same everywhere: “The Arabs were with Da'esh (the name locals use to refer to IS). They cannot come back.”

In Zummar, a polite, soft-spoken Kurdish young man says, “We’ll blow up the Arabs’ houses so they won’t come back. For the Arabs here, it’s over.” I am struck by the contrast between his gentle demeanor and the enormity of what he says.

On the shutters of several shops along the main road on the edge of the town the word “Kurdi” (Kurdish) is freshly written. Why? I asked a small group of men in civilian clothes standing by some of these shops.

“So people know who they belong to and nobody interferes with them,” they reply.

“And the other shops and properties,” I ask, “the ones belonging to the Arab residents who are seemingly not going to be allowed to return?”

The men shrug and do not respond.

On the way back, about 100 km from the town of Zummar, I get talking to an older peshmerga who tells me he only recently completed law school because when he spent his youth as a fighter against Iraqi’s former dictator, Saddam Hussein. When I tell him that I’m troubled by the destruction I saw in Barzanke, he responds, “Well those were Kurdish villages where Saddam Hussein settled the Arabs; and now the Kurds are taking some back.”

For now, the peshmerga have only captured relatively small areas from IS, but if and when they retake more territory, there is a real danger that revenge attacks against Sunni Arab civilians and their homes and businesses may increase, further worsening the sectarian conflict in Iraq.

The KRG must act now to stamp out any such practices, including by investigating all reports of such abuses — some of which may constitute war crimes — and ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice.

It is also incumbent on the US, European and other governments that are currently providing weapons, training and advice to the peshmerga to put in place the necessary oversight mechanisms to ensure the conduct of the peshmerga complies with international humanitarian law.

Donatella Rovera is Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser in northern Iraq. She has worked for Amnesty International for 20 years investigating human rights violations in crisis situations.