Over the weekend the city of Kirkuk exploded in violence after two opposing groups of protesters came together. The dispute was fueled by rival political parties and broke the relative peace the city has experienced over the last several years.
Things started at the end of August when the Sudani government announced it would turn over a building to the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the city of Kirkuk. The KDP was forced out in 2017 after the Kurdish independence referendum turned into a fiasco and armed confrontations broke out between Baghdad and the Barzanis. Handing over the building was part of the deals made between the Kurdish and Shiite parties to form the new administration. Locals were not consulted however leading to different factions taking to the streets.
On September 2 two rival groups of protesters were seen in Kirkuk. Arabs and Turkmen with the latter being organized by the Turkmen Front set up a sit in camp in front of the building to be handed over to the KDP. Hashd units also closed down the road from the city to Irbil. To counter that Kurds protested as well. When they marched on the building and attacked the sit in camp police opened fire trying to disperse the crowd. Four Kurds were killed as a result and over a dozen wounded. Baghdad responded by sending reinforcements and imposing a curfew in the city.
On September 3 the Iraqi Supreme Court ruled that the KDP would not get the headquarters back as of now. This is another sign that the judiciary is completely politicized. In Kirkuk things seemed to be calm as there were no people on the streets. On September 4 however Kurds returned and there were more reports of shooting.
Tensions remain high in Kirkuk city and province. The mix of different political parties and local concerns all led to an explosive situation. The Iraqi police continue to show they have no experience in crowd control and repeatedly use gunfire to disperse crowds which inevitably leads to casualties as happened on September 2. There needs to be local efforts to calm tempers backed by the ruling parties. So far the leadership has remained outside the city making pronouncements and accusations rather than going to the scene and trying to diffuse the situation. This should be no surprise since the elite has a poor record responding to the needs of the people since they are not a real concern. Trouble could continue as a result.
SOURCES
Agence France Presse, “One killed in ethnic protests in Iraq’s Kirkuk,” 9/2/23
Al Hurra, “The events of Kirkuk .. “partisan and political” backgrounds behind the confrontations and my “people’s adherence to the importance of coexistence,”” 9/3/23
Kurdistan 24, “Kurdish protester killed by PMF in Kirkuk,” 9/2/23
- “Protests resume in Kirkuk,” 9/4/23
Al Maslaah, “Kirkuk Police announces the imposition of a curfew in the city after clashes and security chaos,” 9/2/23
Reuters, “Iraqi security forces deploy in Kirkuk after four protesters killed in ethnic clashes,” 9/3/23
Sadiq, Barzan , “#Iraqi security forces depress #Kurdish protesters with live bullets heard in the footage in #Kirkuk,” X, 94/23
Shafaq News, “The death toll from the attack on Kirkuk demonstrators rose to two,” 9/2/23
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