KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region — Residents of the Kurdish village of Arab Koy south of Kirkuk have abducted five Arab villagers in retaliation for the kidnapping of an elderly Kurdish man last week.
According to his relatives, Saeed Kakei had friendly relations with Arab farmers and villagers in the area, continuing to work with them even after the area fell under the control of the radical Islamic State (IS).
Khuwada Shukur, a relative, said despite their traditionally strong ties, during Kakei’s last visit to one of the Arab villages he was kidnapped and is now being held in an unknown location.
“We have been living with the Arabs for decades, have had great social relations and visited each other’s villages,” said Shukur. “We never expected them to do something like this.”
Shukur threatened to hold the five Arabs prisoner until Kakei is released.
“If they don’t return our man soon I don’t think these young men here will sit by idly,” said Shukur, who was surrounded by armed Kakeis.
“All these young men stand here fully armed and they are very angry about this ugly act,” Shukur told Rudaw.
Relatives believe the extremist IS is holding Kakei.
The hostage took the nickname Kakei after Kakei Kurds who follow a mystic belief system that blends Yezidism and Shiite Islam. They are one of Iraq’s many small minorities and mainly live in Kirkuk and Diyala provinces.
Islamic extremists, who believe Yezidis are apostates, have been killing, kidnapping and raping Yezidis and threatening other groups such as Christians in nearby Nineveh province.
Relatives said the abducted man isn’t a Kakei, however. He is a Sunni Muslim, but adopted Kakei as his nickname.
The villagers said that the kidnappers have contacted them several times, promising to release Kakei, “but we have not seen anything of it yet.”
Abdul Khaliq Hussein, a prominent figure in the village, said that some Arab tribesmen in the area have pledged to work for Kakei’s release because “he is an innocent man and didn’t do anything wrong.”
Hussein said Kakei Kurds and their Arab neighbors traditionally got along well.
“There haven’t been any problems in this area that we haven’t been able to solve in the past,” Hussein said.
Hussein said that Kakei is now held by IS, but he also believes that local Arabs must have facilitated his capture “otherwise how would IS know who he is.”
Tribes rather than legal or government institutions continue to resolve most disputes between families and clans in this region.
A police officer in Daquq, the nearest town to Arab Koy village, said he hoped the kidnappings would be solved “in a social manner and not cause fighting between the tribes.”
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