KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region— Students clashed on Kirkuk University campus Wednesday when a group of Arab students hoisted the black flag of the Islamic State (ISIS) on top of their dormitory building on the Kurdistan Flag Day, Kurdish students claimed.
Kurdish students said the ISIS flag was raised on top of the building by a group of Arab students in response to celebrations organized by their Kurdish classmates on the Kurdistan Flag Day.
Kirkuk security forces and police intervened to restore order on campus and prevent further escalation between the students.
A number of students were wounded in the scuffles and were rushed to the hospital.
“On Kurdistan Flag Day, we predicted some sort of fistfights between Kurdish and Arab students,” head of Kirkuk’s Security Forces, Lieutenant Halo Najat told Rudaw.
Kirkuk University board announced the day holiday as a preventative measure, said Najat, but the Kurdish students insisted on marking the day on campus.
“The Kurdish students entered the university site and celebrated the day by flying the flag which was followed by intense fist fighting between Arab and Kurdish undergraduates,” he explained.
The Kurdish parliament in Erbil has marked December 17 the Kurdistan Flag Day.
Security officials said many students in Kirkuk bear arms, adding to the tensions around the university campus in the multiethnic city.
“We confiscated 15 handguns in just two hours of spontaneous inspection at the university,” Najat said.
Najat said the security forces will investigate claims made by Kurdish students that their Arab classmates had hoisted the ISIS flag on campus.
“None of our security forces have seen anything like that, but we take the matter seriously,” he maintained.
.png&w=3840&q=75)