Iraq’s Rapid Response Force, under the Ministry of the Interior, were deployed to the troubled city of Tuz Khurmatu on Saturday under the order of Haider al-Abadi, prime minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. 

The spokesperson of the force, Lieutenant Colonel Abdul-Ameer Mohamadawi, told Rudaw they are there “to preserve security and impose law.”

Tuz Khurmatu, home to Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs, came under Iraqi and Hashd control in October when the Peshmerga pulled out of the disputed areas. Kurds in the town were targeted with violent attacks, arson, and looting.

Thousands of Kurds from the city are sheltering in the Kurdistan Region, still unable to return to their homes. 

Mohamadawi urged the IDPs to return home. “Any IDPs who want to return to their homes, disregarding their religious and ethnic background, they can return,” he said. 

The Iraqi parliament has voted to establish a multi-ethnic committee to investigate events in Tuz Khurmatu.

Photos supplied to Rudaw by the Iraqi Rapid Response Force