Six years after a Dutch air raid as part of the coalition against the Islamic State, the scars of the disaster are still everywhere in the Iraqi city of Hawija. The target was an explosives factory, but at least two tankers outside the factory were full of explosives, and tons of chemicals used to make bombs were stored nearby. At least 70 people were killed and hundreds wounded. Part of the industrial area where the factory stood is still just ruins.

The inhabitants of Hawija knew that Dutch planes were responsible for the disaster that befell their city in June 2015 long before it was revealed in the Dutch media. “We knew right after it happened, from leaks from the operation”, mayor Sabhan Khalaf Ali al-Jubouri explained. “Why is the Dutch government saying it did not know? Someone is trying to escape responsibility.”

Al-Jubouri is on a trip to The Hague to make these complaints in person. Last year, the Dutch Ministry of Defense finally earmarked 4 million euros for Hawija, years after the former minister Jeanine Hennis Plasschaert (now head of the UN mission in Iraq, Unami) was forced to step down for misleading Parliament. It has recently become clear that officials knew at the time of the bombing that the collateral damage could be serious. Al-Jabouri has called on the Dutch both to issue an official apology and to provide immediate assistance in Hawija. “My people expect me to return with compensation money,” he said.

“We had a supermarket, which was totally flattened,” said Hani al-Obaidi, a soldier at a military base just outside the town. “Daesh offered us $200 in compensation, which I refused. The Iraqi government has not compensated me.” He squarely blames the Dutch for his loss, as does the owner of a small shop selling motor oil in the industrial area, who only managed to rebuild with the help of his supplier. They are both angry that no compensation has been paid as yet by the Dutch government.