10/13/2017

Iraq: Fear of an attack on Kirkuk

Germany and the EU should mediate between Iraqi Kurdistan and the government of Iraq (Press Release)

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and many Kurds in northern Iraq fear that the Iraqi army and Iraqi-Shiite militia are about to carry out a large-scale attack on the city and the surrounding region of Kirkuk, which is rich in oil resources. “Germany and the EU must get involved and try to mediate between the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan in Erbil and the Shi'ite-dominated government in Baghdad – immediately,” said Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East correspondent, in Göttingen on Friday. Just like the army, the Shiite militia are controlled by Baghdad. They also cooperate with Iran. The affiliation of the Kirkuk region and the eponymous city is not clear, as both the Sunni-Kurdish majority and the central government are claiming the area. In the struggle against the Islamic State (IS), the Kurdish Peshmerga managed to secure important positions in Kirkuk province over the past three years.


The Iraqi General Staff has denied plans for a military operation to reclaim Kirkuk. However, according to the STP, more and more Shiite militias are being deployed to Iraqi Kurdistan, not far from Kirkuk, especially near the villages Beshir and Taza Kormatu. The militias were supposed to fight against IS in the region – and the Kurdish regional government had agreed to their deployment because the majority of the settlements are inhabited by Shiite Turkmen. “Now that IS has been weakened, it seems as if the Shiite militia, Iran, and Turkey are focusing on fighting the Kurds,” warned Sido.


The human rights activist emphasized that the Iraqi government should have solved the conflict over the affiliation of embattled regions such as Kirkuk, Sinjar, Khanaquin, and Mandali a long time ago –also according to Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which states that Baghdad must take appropriate measures to remove traces of the oppression under Saddam Hussein in certain areas of the country, including Kirkuk. Back then, the population structure had been violently changed. The article focuses on reparation and compensation, but also on repatriation. The borders of the Northern Iraqi districts, which the regime of Saddam Hussein had altered arbitrarily, are to be “reviewed” – and there should be measures to solve the issue, in three stages: in a first phase, the situation must be normalized, so that the people can return to their land. In the second phase, the displaced Kurds, Turkmen, and others should be given back their property. Then, the former borders of the provinces should be restored – and there is supposed to be a census, followed by a referendum regarding the individual regions.