Iraqi Kurdish forces are deliberately destroying Arab villages under their control, according to an Amnesty International report released today.
The human rights group says these actions could amount to war crimes.
Kurdish forces have bulldozed, blown up and burned down thousands of homes in Arab villages recaptured from the Islamic State group, the report says.
“The forced displacement of civilians and the deliberate destruction of homes and property without military justification may amount to war crimes,” says Donatella Rovera of Amnesty International in a statement.
“We are not talking about collateral damage happening in the heat of battle, rather this is deliberate destruction,” Rovera tells The Associated Press.
She calls the treatment of Arab Iraqis detailed in the report “a form of collective punishment on families and communities who have themselves not committed any crimes.”
— AP
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