A delegation from the Maxmur People's Council traveled to Baghdad on May 14 and met with the Iraqi Ministry of Justice to discuss the situation of camp residents and to call for the lifting of the embargo imposed last month. 

Members of the delegation were detained on their way back from Baghdad on Wednesday.

Residents of the camp staged a protest march on Thursday, calling for unity and resistance against the Iraqi government's policies of oppression and intimidation. The people of Maxmur demand the immediate release of the detainees and the lifting of the embargo on the camp.

The residents of Maxmur set up a resistance tent in front of the checkpoint at the entrance to the camp, where Iraqi forces are stationed, expressing their opposition to the oppression and embargo.

Although Iraqi officials stated that the delegation under arrest would be released, the detainees remain in custody.

While the protest continues with determination on its second day, residents state that they will continue their protest until the delegation is released.

Maxmur Camp

The approximately 12,000 residents of the Şehid Rüstem Cudi (Maxmur) Refugee Camp are mostly Kurds who fled the Botan region in Northern Kurdistan (South-Eastern Turkey) in1994 due to the destruction of their villages by the Turkish military, as well as their descendants.

Maxmur Camp has been subjected to oppression by both Iraq and Turkey for years. The camp has been repeatedly bombed since 2017, and the Erdoğan regime has carried out 13 airstrikes on the residents of the camp in the last five years.

The ruling KDP's embargo, in place since 2019, has prevented passage to Hewlêr (Erbil), and many civilians have lost their lives as a result of bombings by Turkish warplanes.

An attempt by Iraqi forces to encircle the camp with a fence in 2021 was thwarted by the resistance of the camp residents. According to a statement released by the Maxmur People's Assembly Co-Presidency on April 15, a new siege and isolation process has been initiated following the recent Iraqi-Turkish talks.

Thousands of people living in the camp are protesting against the long-standing embargo and restrictions on freedom of movement.

The refugee status of camp residents has not been renewed by the Iraqi government for two years. This situation effectively eliminates citizens' freedom of movement, causing them to be stopped at checkpoints and encounter obstacles in their daily lives.

Meanwhile, since April 10, Iraqi security forces stationed at a checkpoint have been preventing food, medicine, and other basic necessities from entering the camp. This de facto blockade is making living conditions for the camp's residents increasingly difficult with each passing day.