Iraqi Kurds have launched wide boycotts of Turkish-made products in retaliation for Ankara's military offensive in Syrian Kurdistan or Rojava, where the Turkish army and the Syrian rebel militias it supports are being accused by human rights groups of ethnic cleansing and war crimes.

Many Kurds feel they have been abandoned by much of the world, including the United States, NATO and Russia, after they played a major role in defeating the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. They say it is time to unite and use every available tool, including boycotts and demonstrations, to resist totalitarian aggressors.

Social media activists in almost all Iraqi cities and towns of the Kurdish region and even Kurds in the diaspora have called for boycotting Turkish products and services, including tourism. Membership in one of the newly formed public groups on Facebook, Boycott Turkey, exceeded 218,000 within a week. Activists also have launched a website and formed teams of volunteers that visit local markets urging citizens to join the boycott.

A Kurdish trader of Turkish foodstuffs in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, who wished not to be named, told Al-Monitor his business has already declined because of the boycott. He's no longer importing Turkish goods at this time, as buyers are rare.