Some Turkmen in
Salahaddin are taking offense to being blamed for the looting and destruction
of Kurdish sections of Tuz Kharmato in the middle of October 2017. Recently a parliamentarian
and a Hashd spokesman blamed the Kurds for some of the events. First, an MP acknowledged that over 500 mortar shells were fired in
the town leading to 10 deaths and around 80 wounded, but did not say who was
responsible or what led to the violence. He also admitted that 76 Kurdish homes were burned or destroyed. At the same time, he told
the media there were no threats against Kurds, and then blamed the Kurdish
parties, meaning the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for encouraging people
to flee and not return for political reasons. Before that Ali al-Husseini a spokesman
for the Hashd al-Turkmen blamed the Kurds for not only starting the fighting, but burning homes as
well. He then said that they put all the onus for the destruction on the Hashd.
Finally, he believed the press was exaggerating the number of people displaced by the
conflict. Instead of the 30,000 that got into the news he stated that only
roughly 9,000 left the town. Tuz Kharmato is divided between Kurds and Turkmen,
with the later split between Sunnis and Shiites. Since the town was liberated
in 2014 many of the Shiite Turkmen threw in with the Hashd. These two obviously
came from that camp. Their statements came from the fact that Iraqi and
international human rights groups, and eye witnesses all blamed the Turkmen for
the destruction that took place in Tuz Kharmato.
What happened in Tuz
Kharmato occurred in two phases. First, on October 13 fighting broke out between the Hashd and Peshmerga. The cause is
disputed as usual, but one side fired upon the other leading to a larger gun
battle that included burning down a PUK office. By the next day, the warring parties reached a deal facilitated by
Badr and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq who both have a presence in the town. This seemed
like one of many similar conflagrations that have happened over the last three
years.
What occurred next
was different however, and can only be characterized as a rampage. First, the
PUK pulled out of the town as part of a larger withdrawal across the disputed
areas in response to the federal government demanding authority over them on
the morning of October 16. Turkmen Hashd and civilians saw this and seized upon the situation,
pouring into the Kurdish section of town looting, burning, blowing up buildings
as well as attacking people. Amnesty International had 11 dead, while Human Rights Watch recorded 5 killed and 51 wounded. The United
Nations reported that at least 150 homes had been burned. Prime Minister Haidar
Abadi even got involved, calling for law and order to be enforced. The mayor of
Tuz Kharmato later told the press that 50-60 houses were blown up, 400 were burned, 2,000
looted along with 1,000 businesses. A delegation from the Iraqi Human Rights
Commission said that 30,000 were displaced as a result. Many are not sure whether
they will return, and are demanding compensation. This was by far the worst occurrence
of violence in the town since 2014. There has always been a lot of underlying
tension within Tuz, which has often exploded into short bursts of fighting.
This seemed completely different not only in its intensity, but
destructiveness. It might mark a turning point in the town, especially if most
of the Kurds don’t return where the Shiite Turkmen establish their dominance.
SOURCES
Amnesty
International, “Iraq: Fresh evidence that tens of thousands forced to flee Tuz
Khurmatu amid indiscriminate attacks, lootings and arson,” 10/24/17
Baghdad Today News,
“The Tuz crowd responds to Kurdish appeal to Sistani: This is what the Barzani
militias did,” 11/2/17
Daily Sabah,
“Peshmerga, Hashd al-Shaabi reportedly clash in northern Iraq,” 10/13/17
Al Ghad Press,
“Patriotic Union of Kurdistan: The Turkmen crowd began burning houses of Kurds
in Tuz Kharmato,” 10/15/17
Human Rights Watch,
“Iraq: Fighting in Disputed Territories Kills Civilians,” 10/20/17
Al Mada, “Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights: 30,000 Kurds displaced from Tuz
Kharmato,” 11/5/17
NINA, “Parliament
Rapporteur calls on Kurdish families to return to Al-Tuz,” 11/4/17
NRT, “Hundreds Of
Houses Burned And Thousands More Looted In Tuz Khurmatu,” 10/25/17
Rudaw, “The popular
crowd stops fighting in Tuz Kharmato district,” 10/14/17
- “Tens of thousands
of Kurds from Tuz Khurmatu unsure their return,” 10/30/17
Shafaaq News, “Local
official: Popular crowd burned headquarters of Kurdish party in Tuz Kharmato,”
10/15/17
Sotaliraq, “The
popular crowd looted Kurds’ property and burned a market in Tuz Kharmato,”
10/17/17
Al Sumaria, “Kurdish
deputy accuses military members of burning Kurdish shops in Tuz Kharmato,”
10/17/17
- “Politburo of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan: militant armed groups imposing themselves on Tuz
Khurmato in the name of the Shiites,” 10/25/17
- “Al-Tuz Council
announces the number of displaced persons from district after the imposition of
security in Kirkuk,” 10/25/17
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