Erbil-Kirkuk road reopens, but disputed city’s IDPs afraid to return
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish civilians who fled Kirkuk on October 16, 2017, when the Iraqi Army and Hashd al-Shaabi took over the disputed city, have watched the reopening of the Erbil-Kirkuk road closely. But now it is open, many are still wary of returning.
“From Kirkuk all the way up to the outskirts of Mosul, we have 1,700 martyred Peshmerga, 9,000 Peshmerga injured. People have to have this in mind, not to say go back once a checkpoint is established. Returning is of no use for us,” he said.
Like Adnan, many IDPs are wary of returning to a city that is no longer Kurdish run. Many are also concerned about security.
“I on my part am not ready, and thousands like me aren’t willing to return in such a form. I am not ready even if the road is open. If I go on the other side [Kirkuk’s side], there are numerous bandits and mercenaries that have stripped people of their possessions, taken their cars and killed them,” he said.
“Surely everyone likes to go back to his homeland, but in a dignified manner,” Talabani told Rudaw.
“On top of that, the security situation needs to be stable. These two don’t exist in Kirkuk currently because it has been militarized intensely. We have asked for the end of militarization. Fortunately, even Sunni provinces demand that Hashd al-Shaabi, the militias, and other alien, non-local forces be expelled,” he added.
According to figures released by the High Committee for Kirkuk’s IDPs, more than 12,000 families were displaced from Kirkuk in the October events.
Only 6,000 families have returned to their homes.
“We have lost a lot in Kirkuk,” Adnan Abdulrahman, a 50-year-old retired Peshmerga and IDP now living in Erbil, told Rudaw.
“From Kirkuk all the way up to the outskirts of Mosul, we have 1,700 martyred Peshmerga, 9,000 Peshmerga injured. People have to have this in mind, not to say go back once a checkpoint is established. Returning is of no use for us,” he said.
Like Adnan, many IDPs are wary of returning to a city that is no longer Kurdish run. Many are also concerned about security.
“I won’t return to Kirkuk without my Peshmerga and Kurdistan flag,” Awad Rahim, a Kirkuk IDP in Erbil, told Rudaw.
“I on my part am not ready, and thousands like me aren’t willing to return in such a form. I am not ready even if the road is open. If I go on the other side [Kirkuk’s side], there are numerous bandits and mercenaries that have stripped people of their possessions, taken their cars and killed them,” he said.
Rebwar Talabani, acting head of Kirkuk’s provincial council filed a lawsuit against Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi six months ago, branding the events of October 16 unconstitutional.
“Surely everyone likes to go back to his homeland, but in a dignified manner,” Talabani told Rudaw.
“On top of that, the security situation needs to be stable. These two don’t exist in Kirkuk currently because it has been militarized intensely. We have asked for the end of militarization. Fortunately, even Sunni provinces demand that Hashd al-Shaabi, the militias, and other alien, non-local forces be expelled,” he added.
According to figures released by the High Committee for Kirkuk’s IDPs, more than 12,000 families were displaced from Kirkuk in the October events.
Only 6,000 families have returned to their homes.