ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Dozens of people from Kirkuk staged a protest in front of the US Consulate General in Erbil on Thursday, demanding the US speak up, saying they are being attacked by Iranian-backed Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi using American weapons.
Iraqi forces and the Hashd al-Shaabi took over disputed areas of Kirkuk and Nineveh provinces this week, including the city of Kirkuk.
The protest took place as the Iraqi forces, backed by the mainly Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi, were about 50 km south of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
Multiple reports indicated that Iran’s Quds commander Qassem Soleimani was on the ground advising the Shiite forces. An Iraqi government spokesperson confirmed to Rudaw that he was a “military advisor” to the force. The head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, has confirmed that he was aware of the reports as well.
The US State Department later in the day released a statement expressing their concern over the violence near Altun Kupri or Pirde outside of Erbil, while calling on the two sides, Baghdad and Erbil, to coordinate their movements in the disputed areas, to begin dialogue, and stressed the status of the disputed areas according the Iraqi constitution.
The Kurdish government has since welcomed the US statement as it said they are prepared to cease the clashes, and open to begin talks with the central government without any preconditions.
Photos: AFP/Safin Hamed
