“We’re closely monitoring the tensions in Kirkuk. We condemn the violence that took place and express our condolences to the families of those killed. The US calls on all parties to resolve any disputes through dialogue and through the activation of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution,” Vedant Patel, a US State Department spokesperson, told Rudaw's Diyar Kurda in a press briefing.
In protest over a rumoured return of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to Kirkuk, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and their supporters blocked the main Kirkuk-Erbil highway for nearly a week, disrupting traffic on the key road and frustrating nearby residents. Disgruntled Kurds held a counter-protest on Saturday, which turned violent. Iraqi forces opened fire. At least four Kurdish protesters were killed.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has vowed to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths.
The KDP left Kirkuk in 2017 after Iraqi forces retook control of the disputed city in the wake of the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum. The party is looking to return ahead of provincial elections in December. The Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command is currently housed in a former KDP office and Sudani had ordered them to leave. That order was temporarily suspended by a court on Sunday.
Kirkuk is a multiethnic city home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen, as well as an Assyrian minority. Control of the oil-rich region is disputed between the federal and regional governments. Article 140 of the 2005 constitution lays out a roadmap to resolve the dispute, including holding a referendum, but it has never been implemented.
Turkey is also closely following the latest developments. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday described Kirkuk as a “Turkmen homeland… where different cultures coexisted in peace for hundreds of years. We will not allow the peace and integrity of this place to be disturbed.”
