Screening + Q&A: Turkey’s Hidden War

BBC Eye Investigations reveals the untold story of Turkey’s military expansion in northern Iraq. For decades, Turkey has fought to root out the PKK, a Turkish-Kurdish militant group, from its refuges in the mountains of Iraq's Kurdistan region. This vast area, spanning almost the entire length of Iraq’s northern border, is known to locals as the Forbidden Zone.

The film shows how in recent years the conflict has undergone a significant shift as Turkey has ramped up its military presence. Evidence in the film suggests that Turkey's war on the PKK is turning into an occupation of Iraqi land. Using satellite imagery, the BBC reveals the full extent of Turkey’s military footprint. By mapping more than 130 Turkish bases and outposts inside Iraq, the film contends that Turkey now has de facto control of thousands of square kilometres of Iraqi territory.

The BBC travelled to these remote areas to shed light on the underreported human toll of the conflict. According to Community Peacemaker Teams, a Kurdish NGO, more than 700 civilians have been killed by Turkey's military actions, while the livelihoods of thousands of people have been affected.

With the building of each new Turkish base, more and more agricultural land is rendered off-limits to Iraqi farmers. The BBC followed some of those living in the shadow of Turkish bases and shows how they've been banished from their fields and orchards.

Those who venture into the Forbidden Zone risk becoming potential targets for Turkish air strikes.

Hundreds of Iraqi civilians have fallen victim to Turkey’s actions in recent years. BBC Eye carried out an in-depth investigation of a strike that killed one Iraqi Kurdish man and injured another. The BBC reported on the ground at the strike location, obtained exclusive court documents, and interviewed family members and experts to understand the anatomy of the strike and why there's been no accountability.

The film questions whether the ruling Kurdish Democratic Party has repeatedly been complicit in obstructing justice for casualties of the Turkish strikes. By failing to record the true cause of death in official documents, local authorities appear to avoid blaming Turkey for these extrajudicial killings. Moreover, the Kurdish government has failed systematically to register these casualties as martyrs - which would entitle their families to financial compensation - because doing so would mean acknowledging Turkey’s responsibility.

Simona Foltyn is an investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Beirut, with more than a decade of experience in the Middle East and working proficiency in Arabic. Her work focuses on accountability reporting and in-depth coverage of conflict. Most recently, she reported and produced the BBC's investigation into Turkey's military presence in northern Iraq. In addition, her investigations have appeared on Channel 4, PBS NewsHour and Al Jazeera English and she has written for the Guardian, Foreign Policy Magazine, Prospect Magazine, the Intercept and others. From 2018-2023, she was based full-time in Baghdad, where she was a staff correspondent for Al Jazeera English. Before that, she spent three years reporting from South Sudan. Her investigation into one of South Sudan’s biggest corruption scandals was recognized with the Kurt Schork Award. She has also been nominated for Peabody Award and the One World Media Award. She holds a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University.

Dr Renad Mansour is a senior research fellow and project director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House. He is also a senior research fellow at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, and a research fellow at the Cambridge Security Initiative based at Cambridge University. Renad was previously a lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he taught the international relations of the Middle East and, from 2013, he held positions as lecturer of international studies and supervisor at the Faculty of Politics, also at Cambridge. He was previously a senior research fellow at the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies in Beirut and was adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government Civil Society Ministry between 2008 and 2010. He received his PhD from Cambridge University. He is co-author of Once Upon a Time in Iraq, published by BBC Books/Penguin to accompany the critically acclaimed BBC series.

Amberin Zaman is Al-Monitor’s chief correspondent covering major stories on the Middle East and North Africa from across the region and beyond. Zaman’s reporting focuses on geopolitical trends, diplomacy and human rights. She has covered conflicts in Iraq, Syria and the South Caucasus. Zaman is widely acknowledged for her courageous work on Turkey and the Kurds for which she was named a “Hero” by the Coalition for Women in Journalism. Prior to joining Al-Monitor as a full time reporter in 2018, Zaman was The Economist’s Turkey correspondent for 16 years. Zaman was also a regular contributor to The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, The Los Angeles Times and Voice of America and penned weekly columns in the Turkish language media. Zaman, who studied political science at Franklin College in Lugano Switzerland, speaks fluent French, Turkish and Bengali. She will be joining over Zoom.