At the end of August 2015 the Peshmerga made a rare
offensive move into southern Kirkuk. Several villages in the Daquq district were
taken in an off and on series of attacks. Soon after stories emerged about the
Kurds looting and destroying homes in the area, and several thousand people were
displaced in the process. This was the latest example of demographic changes
the Kurds are attempting to impose on the disputed territories of northern
Iraq.
On August
26, 2015 the Peshmerga attacked the Daquq district of Kirkuk. 14 villages
were reported cleared on the first day. There was a pause, and then the
offensive began again with another 10 towns seized on September
11, and then ten more on September
13. Then another break occurred before one more town was taken on September
22. As soon as the campaign started there were stories of looting by the
Kurdish forces. Two Peshmerga officers told Iraq
Oil Report that Kurdish volunteers were responsible. There was also a more
systematic destruction of houses in the district. A Peshmerga commander said
that homes in four villages were bulldozed. Another troubling trend was the
Kurds not letting families that fled the fighting return. A Kurdish General was
quoted in The
National saying that residents were free to return to the cleared towns,
but the paper’s reporter saw only empty villages on a trip through the district.
The International Organization for Migration counted
1,805 families displaced from the area, which was over 10,000 individuals. Arab
locals claimed that the Kurds were preventing them from returning. As usual the
government forces are justifying their actions by stating that the areas are
not safe because of explosives and they are afraid of IS infiltration and
supporters. The Kurds have carried out similar actions in Diyala
and Ninewa
of property destruction and forced displacement.
The Kurds have carried out few offensive operations this
year. They are mostly happy to stay in their dug in positions and hold the land
they have taken since last year rather than fight the Islamic State. When they
do act it is to take more of the disputed territories, which they claim as
historically Kurdish. Unless the Peshmerga have local allies, the trend is to
destroy homes and displace the locals as they are considered IS supporters. It
is also part of the Kurds’ larger plan to reverse Saddam Hussein’s Arabization
program that removed thousands of Kurds from northern Iraq and settled Arabs in
their place. By changing the populations of these areas they can create more
facts on the ground that they are Kurdish and should be annexed to the
Kurdistan Regional Government. The post-IS Iraq is much more important for
Kurdish leaders than the current war, which is shown in actions like these in
Kirkuk governorate.
SOURCES
International Organization for Migration, “Iraq Crisis
Response – Situation Report #25 Update: 5 – 15 September,” 9/15/15
Iraq Oil Report, “After Peshmerga victory, homes looted and
destroyed,” 9/1/15
Mamoun, Abdelhak, "Kurdish
Peshmerga and Anti-Terorism forces liberate 7 villages south of Kirkuk,"
Iraqi News, 8/26/15
- "Peshmerga liberates
villages of Albu-Najam and tel al-Basel south of Kirkuk," Iraqi News,
8/26/15
NINA, "Peshmerga Capture 12
Terrorists In Daquq West Of Kirkuk," 9/13/15
- "Peshmerga forces liberate
10 villages south of Kirkuk," 9/11/15
Sotaliraq, "Freeing of a
village south of Kirkuk from Daash control," 9/22/15
Williams, Sara Elizabeth, “Kurds’ smouldering feud could
reignite in northern Iraq,” The National, 9/10/15
Xinhua, "Kurdish troops
launch offensive against IS in northern Iraq," 8/26/15
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