Shafaq News- Geneva

Iran’s repeated strikes on camps hosting Iranian Kurdish refugees and opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) are causing severe psychological and social harm to children, the Geneva-based Hana Human Rights Organization warned on Thursday.

In a new report, the organization said many children suffer from chronic anxiety, insomnia, fear of loud noises, and declining concentration and learning abilities amid limited access to mental health support. It cautioned that continued shelling and cross-border attacks are normalizing violence among children, with explosions and drones increasingly becoming part of daily life.

The attacks have also triggered repeated displacement across the Kurdistan Region, disrupting access to education, healthcare, and stability. Many camps, Hana noted, still lack the infrastructure and essential services needed to address worsening humanitarian and psychological conditions.

Hana urged humanitarian agencies and the international community to provide urgent psychological and protection assistance for affected children, stressing the need to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and halt attacks affecting civilians.

According to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the KRI recorded 809 drone and missile incidents between February 28 and April 20, 2026, leaving 20 people dead and 123 injured.

Read more: Strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan: How deniability became a weapon