ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Arab Sunni tribes in Kirkuk made a proposal to President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani that includes 5,000 names to be enlisted for a brigade to be associated with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga.
Twelve Sunni tribe leaders in Kirkuk province, in two letters, submitted names of 5,000 tribal members to Barzani in order to get his support for creating a brigade for them, and then incorporate the brigade into the Ministry of Peshmerga. The leaders want the brigade to protect the Sunni towns of Hawija, Ryaz and Rashad after their liberation from Islamic State (ISIS).
“There is preparation by lawyers and tribal leaders to draft a commitment regarding protecting our areas after ISIS. We have asked Masoud Barzani to support those forces in order to protect the people and those areas in the future,” Saadun Afandi, member of the Arab Sunni Council in Kirkuk, told Rudaw.
Barzani has not responded to the request as of yet. But Latif Guli, representative of the Kurdistan Region Presidency in Kirkuk, said to Rudaw, “Those tribal leaders that came to Barzani asked to be with us and for our help to create a 5,000-force brigade. This will be accepted, but we need to know first who are the 5,000 fighters.”
The tribal leaders who asked Barzani to create a brigade for them are in dispute with other tribal leaders who have asked for similar support from Baghdad.
Prior to the arrival of ISIS, the Iraqi army and the Sahwa (awakening) tribal forces were in charge of the security of Hawija and its surrounds. But for post-ISIS, some Sunni Arabs want to collaborate with the Peshmerga while remaining in control of their own protection.
On 17 April, Masoud Barzani met with the tribal leaders of Kirkuk province from Hawija, Daquq and Rashad. In the meeting the leaders asked Barzani to allow their tribal forces to play a key role in retaking their areas along with the Peshmerga forces, and after routing ISIS, remain in charge of their own security, according to a statement on the Kurdistan presidency website.
Barzani indicated support for the tribal leaders’ proposal in their April meeting. “This is the best and right way and you should take part in liberating your areas and protecting it and for this there will be coordination with the related parties.”
The Kurdish president stressed the need for the people of the area to be in control of their own fate. “As I affirmed before, the fate of Kirkuk is in the hands of Kirkuk people and what they will decide about their future, their decision should be respected by everyone,” reads the presidency statement.
He, however, warned those Arab tribes that helped ISIS and said “Anyone linked to ISIS, helped them and accepted their idea, their fate will be like ISIS.”
In recent months, an operation to recapture areas south and west of Kirkuk, including Hawija, Ryaz and Rashad, from ISIS has been postponed a few times by Sunni Arabs in Kirkuk. This is mainly because they oppose any participation of the Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi in the liberation of the Sunni towns.
“Our political entities, tribes and organization do not want Hashd al-Shaabi taking part in the Hawija battle. The power of the Peshmerga forces is enough to capture the occupied areas,” Rakan Saeed, head of the Iraqi Arab Republicans in Kirkuk, told Rudaw in June.
