ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Shiite militiamen of the Hashd al-Shaabi denied claims that they have abducted Kurdish citizens on the main Kirkuk-Baghdad road near the town of Amirli, promising to remove their checkpoints on the road. "We intend to tell our Kurdish brothers that Amirli is not against the Kurds," said Mahdi Taqi, a local Shiite official. He called on the parties to meet and resolve issues between them, "We are urging the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan region government to come together and solve the problems." About 21 Shiite armed battalions have been based on the outskirts of Tuz Khurmatu, 25km north of Amirli, and the town's officials believe that these Shiite forces are irregular, causing trouble in the area. "Hashd al-Shaabi leaders are against these violations in the area. But we have already notified them that these [Shiite] forces have to be organized and wherever non-organized forces are present, violations may increase," said Shalal Abdul, mayor of Tuz Khurmatu town. Abdul claims that there are parties within the Hashd al-Shaabi that are encouraging their members to commit abuses. Since February 12, three Kurdish policemen and three presidential guards were abducted by Shiite militiamen near Amirli in Diyala province; they were freed on Sunday. Several abductions have occurred in the same area and the whereabouts of some abductees are still unknown. Rebwar Saeed, the brother of an abducted citizen from Erbil, told Rudaw that his brother was kidnapped at a checkpoint near Amirli eight months ago by Shiite militiamen of the Hashd al-Shaabi. "My brother was arrested by the Hashd al-Shaabi at the Amirli checkpoint. In the first week of his arrest we were talking with him, but now we don't know his whereabouts and his mobile is turned off," Saeed said. To improve the security situation of Tuz Khurmatu, three separate agreements between the Peshmerga, administrative departments of Tuz Khurmatu, and Hashd al-Shaabi officials have been signed, but Abdul claims no party has committed to the agreement. The mayor of Tuz Khurmatu says there are still seven people missing in the area.
