Jabouri accused the PUK of making a political statement by raising the flag, which has not flown over Kirkuk since Iraqi forces and Iran-backed paramilitias took the city from the Peshmerga in October 2017.
“We call on the beloved people of Kirkuk and all its communities not to follow political shows that aim to create sedition and disregard the security of people, services and stability,” Jabouri said in a statement.
He ordered PUK officials to remove the Kurdistani flag, warning the Kurdish party must “take responsibility for what has happened or might happen.”
Jabouri said he had called on Iraqi security forces to stop violations of the law, the constitution, and the rulings of parliament.
“Kirkuk proved it is safe and stable under the flag of a united Iraq – and this encourages us to protect these achievements,” he added.
Mohammed Mahdi Bayaty, head of Badr Organization North Branch, said the Shiite paramilitias is monitoring the situation.
“We are carefully watching what happened in Kirkuk last night, and we know the motives and background of some PUK leaders very well, as well as the past consequences of raising Kurdistani flag on headquarters in the city of Kirkuk,” he said in a statement.
“Frankly, we reject any new reality that comes through chaos. And the future of the Kurds cannot be built through chaos,” he added.
During Newroz celebrations for the Kurdish new year two years ago, the provincial council first made the decision to raise the Kurdistan flag alongside the Iraqi one in the province that is claimed by both the federal and regional governments.
The controversial move, condemned by Baghdad, occurred just a few months before Kirkuk took part in Kurdistan’s independence referendum.
Tensions over the disputed province appear to be easing with the new government in place in Baghdad. Kurdish and Iraqi leaders recently agreed that the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitia will withdraw from Kirkuk, meaning the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) can return.
Kirkuk and the disputed territories have a special status under the Iraqi constitution drafted after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Article 140 stipulates the dispute should be resolved in a referendum to determine whether these areas should remain part of federal Iraq or be absorbed by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.
Successive governments in Baghdad failed to hold such a referendum, fearing the loss of Kirkuk would make an independent Kurdistan economically viable and lead to the breakup of Iraq. However, by neglecting the issue, Baghdad bolstered calls for Kurdish independence, leading to the September 2017 referendum.
When ISIS militants swept across northern Iraq in 2014, conquering several towns and cities, Iraqi forces withdrew from Kirkuk, leaving the city undefended. The Peshmerga came to its defense, holding the province and its oilfields until October 2017.
On October 16, in response to the Kurdistan independence referendum, the Iraqi Army and Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias marched into Kirkuk and took over several of the disputed territories. Baghdad did this with the support of Iran, Turkey, European states, and the US, which had warned Erbil not to hold its referendum.
The Peshmerga clashed with Iraqi forces on several fronts, but prevented them from entering the Kurdistan Region itself. The events of October 16 are nevertheless widely seen by Kurds has a humiliating setback on the road to independence.
After the Iraqi takeover, Kurdish officials in Kirkuk were removed from office and Kurdish farmers either prevented from cultivating their land or driven away by Arab settlers. The feared resumption of government-sanctioned Arabization has done nothing to ease hostility.
The security gaps and instability caused by the takeover have also allowed ISIS remnants to regroup and resume a low scale insurgency.
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have receded somewhat over the past year, with Kurdish and Iraqi leaders meeting to resolve disputes over political representation, budgets, borders, customs, airports, roads, and most importantly oil.
Article 140 and the normalization of Kirkuk, however, remain elusive.
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