Yet again, a crisis in Iraq threatens to disrupt a region which has seen too much instability since Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979. In recent weeks, there have been verified reports of mass displacement by villagers in the border areas of Duhok province in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. They are fleeing escalating military attacks by neighboring Turkey, abandoning their homes in search of safety.

Through egregious violations of international law, Turkish forces are establishing checkpoints and patrols on Iraqi sovereign territory in the guise of hunting down the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters whom they accuse of terrorism. The Turkish army has already begun operations near Kan Masi and Mount Metina, while heavily armed soldiers are patrolling the areas near the villages of Kani Baze, Dargale, Balave, and Belizani.

These are not isolated incidents; Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a U.S.-based human rights organization and conflict monitor, said Turkey has launched more than 800 attacks on the Kurdistan Region so far in 2024. Kurdish and Assyrian villagers fear mortars and constant gunfire, and many report that they have been warned by Turkish soldiers to evacuate their homes within 24 hours or face forced removal and bombardment by the Turkish army.

This is not new. As far back as 2020, a report issued by a parliamentary committee of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) noted that 500 villages had been deserted across the Kurdistan Region because of Turkish cross-border incursions. The numbers continue to increase.

At a time when both Baghdad and Erbil are shutting down the camps for over 1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), with claims that it is now safe for them to return to their homes, we have a new displacement crisis unfolding in Duhok. Kurdish villagers, all Iraqi citizens, are now being displaced to new camps.

Over the years, Baghdad has repeatedly called upon Ankara to cease such unilateral actions that threaten Iraq's security and violate our sovereignty. But this time, the actions are more than temporary cross-border incursions. It is an occupation. According to international law, occupation refers to a situation when during an international armed conflict, a territory, or parts of it comes under the provisional control of a foreign power, even if it is not met with armed resistance.

In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara is close to completing a zone that will "permanently resolve" the security issues along the border by summer. The Turkish army has been constructing a new 9-kilometer military road in the Barwari Bala area of Duhok. This road will connect Turkish military bases and outposts in the Kani Masi sub-district, extending to other military roads in the Batifa district and reaching as far as Hakkari province in Turkey. The Turkish effort in Northern Iraq bears a resemblance to the "Safe Zone" Turkey has been seeking in Northern Syria since 2011. Citing a national security imperative for a buffer zone to prevent cross-border attacks in the border regions between Turkey and Syria, it sought to establish a zone in Syria between Kobane and Afrin, where Turkish forces could unilaterally operate threats to Turkish national security. While initially opposed by the United States because of the ongoing fight against Daesh, also known as ISIS, the U.S. later accepted the "No-Daesh" zone, which has led to a continuous presence of Turkish military forces in parts of Northern Syria to this day. There is no reason to expect that Turkey has any lesser ambitions in Northern Iraq.

Let me be clear—Iraq is not Syria. There are established government entities at the federal level in Baghdad and at the regional level in Erbil. Both the central Iraqi government and the KRG have agreed upon the need to protect the sovereignty of this country.

Tens of thousands of lives have been lost and sacrificed for every inch of this land during decades of incessant conflict. The Iraqi public deserves to know how, why, and who gave permission to our neighbor to establish checkpoints and station hundreds of troops in Duhok. The Iraqi public needs to know of the crossing of more than 300 military tanks and hundreds of Turkish soldiers establishing checkpoints between Kurdish and Assyrian villages in Duhok.

Both the federal and regional government must unequivocally reject the growing Turkish occupation of our country and make it clear to Ankara that its military presence is illegitimate, its forces have no authority to displace our citizens from their homes and villages, and its operations must have oversight and clearance by the Iraqi Security Forces.

I fear for the legitimacy of the federal and regional governments because of their inaction at best, and their complicity at worst, because both are silent and have failed to address the ongoing attacks and violations of our sovereignty.

It falls upon Baghdad and Erbil to act in coordination and hold back what is sure to become a dangerous first step toward occupation. Why are those most opposed to the continued presence of U.S.-led troops in Iraq silent on the growing presence of Turkish troops in Iraq?

Iraq's citizens, especially those most affected, would be right to question why the Turkish military buildup and growing occupation is in the best interest of Iraq. If it is not in our best interest, then Iraq—supported by the international community—must take the proper actions. All of our citizens deserve this, especially those confronted by the Turkish threat, every day, in our northern provinces.

Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed is the first lady of Iraq.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.