Turkey is expected to accelerate efforts to eliminate PKK terrorists from Makhmour camp in northern Iraq and present a road map to Iraqi officials with an aim to end the terrorists' activities and increase security measures.
Ankara has reportedly prepared a comprehensive plan to clear Makhmour camp of the terrorists, which has become one of seven logistic bases for the terrorists along the Qandil-Sincar line and has lost its humanitarian aspect. Negotiations between Ankara and Baghdad are expected to start in mid-February.
The Makhmour camp was established by the U.N. and Iraq for refugees who were forced to leave Turkey by the PKK in 1994. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), the refugees "first stayed in Atroush camp near the Turkish border, then split into two groups in 1997. Between 4,000 and 5,000 refugees moved to local settlements in the governorate of Dahuk and Irbil. A larger group relocated to the Makhmour camp, which today looks like a small town with mud-brick houses and several shops selling food." The people in the camp have been struggling to live while bowing down to the pressure of the terrorist group, which turned the region into a military headquarters. Control of Mosul's Makhmour district was taken by peshmerga forces after the Daesh assaults. Today, 12,000 people live in Makhmour camp awaiting the end of the pressure imposed by the outlawed PKK.
According to Ankara's plan, as a first step, reported by the Turkiye daily, nearly 1,100 terrorists will be required to leave the region by July. Turkey will also demand increased security measures at transition points, including the Makhmour line used by the terrorist organization. When the camp is cleared of the terrorists, in 2019 Ankara will ramp up efforts to find a long-term solution for civilians living in the camp.
Officials from Ankara have been pointing out that the camp has lost its humanitarian aspect, which is acknowledged in a report published by the office of the UNCHR as well. Turkey has been conveying its concerns to both the U.N. and the Iraqi central government.
Following the expansion of Daesh in Mosul and the region in June 2014, the outlawed PKK came to the region under the pretext of protecting civilians. When Daesh left the region, the PKK increased its military existence in the region and built a new camp right next to the Makhmour camp, which is under the supervision of the U.N.
