40 Commando
The RM Refugee Relief Agency

When we returned to Norton Manor from Easter Leave on 15 April, the media had already begun to focus on the plight of the Kurds. After the failure of their uprising at the end of the Gulf War, they had fled en masse to the mountains of Iraq's northern borders to escape Saddam's revenge. Pictures of young and old existing with little shelter and minimal food in wintry conditions were already gnawing at the Western conscience.

As we began to prepare for London duties and a FIBUA package specu­lation grew that we might provide the troops necessary to guarantee John Major's 'Safe Haven' initiative. On Thursday 18 April 1991 the CO announced at a Clear lower Deck that we would be deploying, along with the majority of the Brigade. Our task was not yet clearly defined though plainly it would be a cross between humanitarian aid and provision of security. The Advance party deployed on 20 April from RAF Brize Norton after a good send off from the massed press corps. Our initial destination was Diyarbakir in Turkey, which was rapidly reduced to DIY as brains concentrated on more important matters than Turkish linguistics. We moved on to Silopi near the Iraq and Syrian borders expecting cold wet and mountainous conditions. imagine our disappointment when we landed on a flat plain in stifling heat -oh well, 40 in the sun again! We sheepishly hid our snowshoes from the prying eyes of the world's press who were already on the trail of real news of real men!

Silopi (Arctic) Tent City watch as 845 & 846 NAS arrive

Silopi was a hive of activity. The Americans were here in strength and with planning well advanced. A green tented camp was expanding by the hour and beginning to turn brown with the clouds of dust being thrown up by vehicles and helicopters. Relief stores for the refugees were piling up by the truckload, too quickly to be unloaded. Meanwhile the planning process was under way - we were soon slotted into Task Force Alpha - mainly consisting of the US 10th Special Forces Group. They had the task of administering the mountain camps, and alleviating the most immediate suffering. We were allocated the eastern-most portion of the border, stretching up to Iran, where it was thought there were as many as 1 million refugees. Our operations in this remote and mountainous area were to be based on the little known town of Yuksekova in the south-eastern corner of Turkey.

Where Shall we Site the 40 Commando HQ?

However, with the main body of the Commando about to arrive, more detailed reconnaissance of our area revealed that there was only one major concentration of refugees, at Yasilova, and it was taken on by the M & AW Cadre. Fortunately a new task quickly appeared. 45 Cdo RM were already occupying Zakho, across the border in Iraq. Our mission would be to push east of Zakho and secure the first large valley to the south of the Turkish border which would be the initial reception area for Kurdish refugees coming down from the mountain camps. Once the companies had arrived at Silopi, having enjoyed once more the care and attention of the RAF (the world's favourite airline), they quickly deployed. The convoy swept along a road littered with burnt out Iraqi trucks ' with Kate Adie in hot pursuit (of real men or real news?!).

A Mne from B Coy Gives a Helping Hand

The companies were located at strategic points within our area: B Coy were at the eastern end of the valley, on the banks of the Great Zab River. From 'Rupert Brooke Camp' they began to administer the move of 130,000 refugees from Cukurca camp on the Turkish border, across the Great Zab and into the valley. Sp Coy took up residence at Kani-Masi. Refugees were received directly from Uzurnlu Camp along with all those who had already passed through B Coy. As the first major halt on the routes from the mountains Kani Masi developed into a camp of its own with many thousands of people being supplied with shelter, food, medical aid and transport.

 
C Coy Secure a Bridge

C Coy, after an initial stay at Begova, on our western boundary, moved north up into the mountains to the razed and deserted village of Nazclur. By the time refugees from Yekmal camp reached them on their journey south they were exhausted, women and children, young and old, having completed an arduous trek across the mountains with their personal belongings. Initially many of the refugees who passed through our locations headed for Zakho as it was a safe area. But as 45 Cdo RM and other Coalition forces expanded the area of the safe haven to our south, many began to cross over the ridge out of our valley. A Coy was positioned on this route and the ever flexible Marines turned their hands to road improve­ments on a steep, tortuous and badly surfaced track, over which many thousands of refugees were to travel in the weeks to come.

Announcements were made in the mountain refugee camps that the area immediately to the south was secure. Some families sent recce parties down to check that it was in fact safe and to recover the wheels that they had hidden when they had abandoned their cars to walk into the mountains. Soon, the trickle became a flood. Most of the refugees were urban people, keen to leave the crowded, unfamiliar and unpleasant surroundings of the camps. As they began to stream down in their hundreds, and later thousands, the scale of our operations grew. Some refugees moved straight through ourvalley on their own or on Coalition-provided transport. Others, quite exhausted, or waiting for Dahuk to be secured, began to camp along the road. Kani Masi developed into a sprawling mass of tents covering some 15 square kilometres and containing over 20,000 people. Marines were involved in a variety of tasks ranging from military skills to practical humanitarian support. Throughout the operation our aim was, however, to encourage the Kurds to help themselves as much as possible.

Refugee's Cukurca camp

We worked. closely with civil aid organisations such as Medicins San Frontiers, CARE and the Overseas Development Agency. These organisations began to appreciate that even Marines are human underneath and they appeared grateful for the level of coordination of the relief effort that military organisation was able to provide.

Once Iraqi troops had withdrawn from Dahuk, the plug was pulled and the bath emptied. The population at Kani Masi dropped from its maximum of 28,571 at the rate of over 7,000 per day, a major coordination task for Sp Coy. Suddenly we found ourselves under­employed as the task of expediting the movement of refugees out of the camps was completed. Our attentions moved to facilitating the resettlement of our valley by the Barwali tribe, displaced from their villages by Saddam Hussein. A change of scene was also provided by the search for three missing BBC journalists who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances in late March. After a tip-off B Coy was deployed on a search operation and recovered two bodies and some belongings in a re­mote and mountainous corner of Iraq. Further searches for the third journalist  revealed nothing.

We later took over 45 Cdo's area in addition to our own as 45 and other elements of the Brigade begin to return home. Op Haven has been a fascinating and rewarding experience which has utilized the diversity of skills and talents within the unit to the full. 

The making of a Country?

As 3 Cdo Bde withdrew gradually from Iraq, our TAOR expanded bit by bit until 40 Commando Group, a joint service international group, became British Forces Kurdistan! Our last troops left Iraq on 15 July, the day that Op Provide Comfort and Op Haven closed down, and Op Warden, the British contribution to the residual force in South East Turkey, started. B Coy remained in theatre, returning to UK on 19 August on being relieved by C Coy. A Coy went back out in mid-September for a month.

The handover of 40 Cdo from Task force Alfa to 3 Cdo Bde,
(l to r) Brig Keeling, Lt Col Dunlop, Mne LE Phant & Brig Gen Potter

So we have seen the whole range and duration of Kurdish relief operations. Much of the work has had the reward and stimulation of dealing directly with refugees, while some has involved security or conventional military operations. Some has been mundane. Much has lacked the comforts of modern life. But everyone involved, either in theatre or in the rear party, can be sure that their contribution was an essential part of a remarkable operation which undoubtedly saved a great many lives. It will take time to gather our thoughts on the things we have seen and done, but for most it will be an unforgettable and sobering experience. Whatever our age, we will all have matured a bit as a result.

It would be impossible to list all the impressions gained over the last few months, but perhaps this is an appropriate place to record the astonishing speed and ease with which our reinforcements, both regular and reserve, assimilated themselves into the Commando, and how our younger men rose to the challenge of a situation which they had never foreseen. It was good to see.