Turkey Erdogan honorary doctorate
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses a gathering after receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from M. A. Zaki, Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University Adnan Abidi/Reuters

A group of Swedish MPs has lodged an official complaint of genocide against the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Five lawmakers in the Nordic nation from the Left and Green parties have come together to file the complaint, the first of its kind in Sweden.

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The complaint accuses Erdogan of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Kurdish majority in the south east of Turkey.

Green MP Annika Lillemets said: "We are five lawmakers handing in a complaint... [requesting] punishment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."

A truce between Kurdish rebels and Turkish security forces faltered when fighting restarted in 2015.

Filed to the Swedish International Public Prosecution Offices, the documents name the Turkish president, as well as Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

It now falls upon the Public Prosecution Offices to decide whether to act on the complaint.

The case is only able to be acted upon following a change to Sweden's laws in 2014, which allowed the country's courts and judges to preside over complaints of genocide regardless of where they have been committed or by whom.

Previously only Swedish nationals or those in Sweden could be tried for such crimes.

The law reads "anyone, who in order to completely or partially destroy a national or ethnic group of people" kills, causes serious pain or injury is "guilty of genocide".

Hundreds of Turkish security forces have been killed in recent years, while the army claims to have killed thousands of Kurdish rebels.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) are classed as a terrorist group by the Turkish government, EU and the US. Roughly 40,000 people have died in the long-running conflict since 1984.

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