ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—First it was Islamic State, now Shiite militias are threatening the stability of Khurmatu and escalating sectarian tensions say residents. Many Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Sunni Turkmen are leaving their homes in Khurmatu due to increasing killings and threats. “Killing people is as easy as drinking water. The city does not have an owner. There is no security. We are many Kurds in Askari neighborhood. We all left and goodbye,” a Kurdish resident told Rudaw while he was packed up and leaving town. “The Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Sunni Turkmen are leaving. Only the Sunnis are leaving; it’s the sectarian war,” he added. According to the people of Khurmatu, the killings and threats increased in the last couple weeks, spurring many residents to leave town. People are putting their houses up for sale, indicating they have given up on Khurmatu and have no intention of returning. The threats are believed to be mainly coming from the Shiite militias but people are not clear whether they are linked to the Hashd al-Shaabi or not. “We have been threatened. No one knows who is behind it – Shias, Sunnis or ISIS. They threatened us to leave the neighborhood,” a woman from the Askari neighborhood of Khurmatu told Rudaw. The poor security situation has left residents feeling that the town is on the frontlines of the war and they face direct threats. “I am a Peshmerga at the frontlines. I came home but it is the same, like the frontlines. What a life?,” a Peshmerga resident said. People are asking for support, especially from the KRG who they want to give them a safe place to move to. In May, the people of Khurmatu and the KRG Ministry of Peshmerga asked the Kurdistan Region’s presidency to create a special force formed from the people of Khurmatu to protect their town. Kurdish Peshmerga and Shiite militias have clashed several times over the past year. They have tried, unsuccessfully, to make peace agreements. In April, they signed a 12 point agreement to stabilize the situation. But not all the points were implemented and tensions resumed. In May, they established a joint Peshmerga-Shiite force but the insecurity remained. An official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) blamed the insecurity on the presence of multiple armed groups in the town. “All those different armed groups are present in Khurmatu, causing instability in town,” Hassan Baram told Rudaw on June 18. “Khurmatu is like a diversified and colorful military base. Such a small district cannot contain all those brigades, battalions, foreign and internal forces. The Kurdish authority should try to expel those forces from the town and the security of Khurmatu should be handed to the security forces,” he added.
