Cautious calm in Kirkuk and lifting the curfew after bloody clashes
Cautious calm has returned to the northern province of Kirkuk, after a stormy day of unrest and clashes between security forces and demonstrators; This prompted the authorities to impose a curfew, then lifted it again, on Sunday, and opened the road linking Kirkuk and Erbil, which Arab and Turkmen protesters closed during the past days.
These events came in an attempt to prevent the handover of the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which was taken over by the Joint Operations Command after the 2017 Operation Fardh al-Qanun.
Today (Sunday), the Federal Supreme Court ordered the suspension of procedures for opening a headquarters for the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Kirkuk, according to the Iraqi News Agency. The court said in a statement that it had decided to “stop the implementation of the Prime Minister’s order, which includes the evacuation of the building currently occupied by the advanced headquarters of the Joint Operations Command in Kirkuk Governorate, and the effects that resulted from it, until the lawsuit is decided under which the ruling is required to cancel it in order to maintain security in Kirkuk Governorate.” The court described the decision as “conclusive and binding on all authorities.”
Earlier, an informed press source in Kirkuk told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the incitement to block the road was prompted by Arab and Turkmen sides; This caused difficulty in movement in the governorate, and the inability of ordinary citizens to move or travel from Kirkuk to Erbil governorate and the rest of the regions.
Concerning this problem, the source said: “Hundreds of Kurdish citizens staged a counter-demonstration to force the security authorities to open the road, which caused a clash with the security forces present in the place,” denying that “the demonstrators had taken up arms during the demonstration, and all the dead were Kurds.”
The Kirkuk police chief, Major General Kawa Gharib, said in press statements that the curfew imposed by Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani on Saturday evening had been “lifted.”
He stressed that «the situation is now stable throughout the city of Kirkuk».
On Saturday, the city of Kirkuk, which is inhabited by Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, witnessed demonstrations punctuated by clashes between Kurdish demonstrators on the one hand, and the participants in a sit-in of Arabs and Turkmen on the other.
Security forces deployed to separate the two sides and fired warning shots to disperse the Kurdish demonstrators. An AFP correspondent reported that vehicles on a main avenue were set on fire.
Four Kurds were killed during these events, and 15 were wounded, according to what the Kirkuk police spokesman, Amer Shwani, told AFP on Sunday.
Iraqi demonstrators after protests in the city of Kirkuk yesterday (AFP)
Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani called for “forming an investigation committee,” pledging in a statement to “hold the negligent ones accountable… so that they receive their just punishment.”
In light of the intense state of tension that prevailed in the province, Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani made two phone calls with the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, and the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, in which he stressed the need to “intensify integrated work in order to miss the opportunity for all those who tamper with the security and stability of the city of Kirkuk, And to extend the law by the security forces, ”according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Emphasis was placed on “the importance of not giving way to any irresponsible elements targeting the homogeneous and fraternal social fabric of the governorate.” Al-Sudani directed that an investigation be conducted to find out who caused the death of citizens and the injury of others.
In turn, the head of the Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, vowed to those responsible for the events that they “will pay dearly for the bloodshed of our sons in Kirkuk.”
Barzani said in a statement, “A group of rioters blocked the road between Erbil and Kirkuk several days ago under the pretext of preventing the opening of the KDP headquarters in Kirkuk, and not allowing citizens to live their normal lives, and they also created inappropriate and very dangerous conditions for the people of Kirkuk.”
Iraqi demonstrators block a road after protests in the city of Kirkuk yesterday (AFP)
He added, “It is surprising that the security forces and police in Kirkuk have not been able over the past few days to prevent this chaos and this illegal behaviour. Today, violence has been used against Kurdish youth and demonstrators in Kirkuk, and the blood of Kurdish youth has been shed.”
Erbil often accuses the “Popular Mobilization Forces”, “Tribal Mobilization Forces” and Turkmen groups of being behind fabricating the Kirkuk crisis.
The “National Union” distributes accusations to everyone
For its part, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the arch-rival of the Democratic Party, launched a scathing attack on all parties in Kirkuk, and said in a statement: “Unfortunately, and without scruples, and several days ago, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and some chauvinistic parties in Kirkuk, and from Through different scenarios, causing problems and inflaming the situation. The party stated that “the KDP, because of its failure to manage the region and monopolize power, and to cover up its failure, is trying to export problems to Kirkuk, especially since it has become clear to everyone that all participants in the demonstrations are being directed from Erbil.”
He continued, “The Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Arab and Turkmen chauvinistic parties, who are friends and allies to each other, have no problem with the headquarters, because their headquarters and branches were evacuated, but they do not want to return, but rather an excuse to strike the Kirkuk community peace.”
The KDP previously responded briefly to the Union Party’s hostile statements towards it by saying: “We will not respond to the Union’s statement that is full of accusations and far from the truth. Because its content shows their level, and the fool’s answer is silence.
The “framework” supports the Sudanese
For his part, the “coordination framework”, which includes most of the Shiite forces except for the Sadrist movement and dominates the government, presented, on Saturday evening, the renunciation of escalation and the adoption of dialogue in resolving problems in Kirkuk. He expressed his support for “all governmental measures instructed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to control security and stability in the province.”
There were reports of Al-Sudani’s instructing to stop the process of handing over the headquarters, which raised the big problem, to the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the handover process was approved earlier according to understandings that took place between the Shiite forces and the Democratic Party during the government formation stage within the framework of the “State Administration” coalition that includes most of the forces. Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political who formed the Sudanese government.
A statement issued by the “Coordination Framework” said on Saturday evening: “We are following with great interest the developments of events in Kirkuk governorate, including demonstrations and protests and the accompanying acts of violence, which led to casualties and injuries to a number of citizens, and a number of private properties were subjected to burning and destruction.” .
He added, “Violence and escalation of the situation is not a solution between the parties and components in the city, and we ask the political forces to move away from the convulsive rhetoric, work to calm down, and support the security services in carrying out their duties in preserving public and private property.”
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2023-09-03 14:05:26
