Iraq
Abdulqadir Mohammed speaking to Rudaw in Kirkuk on December 7, 2022 after being attacked by resettled Arabs. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Dozens of resettled Arabs on Wednesday attacked Kurdish farmers in Daquq district of Kirkuk province after ploughing on their land. Two farmers were injured. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called on the Iraqi government to put an end such attacks.
Disputes over land ownership between Arabs, resettled to areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad by the Baathist regime, and Kurdish farmers have existed for years, often causing violence.
Abdulqadir Mohammed, a Kurdish farmer in Daquq, told Rudaw’s Hardi Mohammed on Wednesday that dozens of resettled Arabs had been ploughing on his land for three days with the alleged support of the Iraqi army. He said that when they tried to stop them, the resettled Arabs attacked with stones and guns.
Mohammed said he has all necessary documents to prove the ownership of the land.
“Four tractors were ploughing. The army says that they do not allow this but they are lying… because they are siding with them [Arabs]. They [army] do not allow me to plough,” he noted.
He and another person were injured during the attack. Mohammed said that he was briefly detained before being hospitalised.
PM Barzani said in a statement that these attacks are “concerning.”
“Attacking Kurdish farmers in Daquq district, Kirkuk province is concerning. I call on the Iraqi president, prime minister and the speaker of the Iraqi parliament to urgently end these attacks on the Kurdish farmers,” said Barzani.
He added that the attacks have been carried out by “some powerful people who illegally try to expel Kurds and confiscate their land.”
Disputes over land ownership between Arabs, resettled to areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad by the Baathist regime, and Kurdish farmers have existed for years, often causing violence.
Abdulqadir Mohammed, a Kurdish farmer in Daquq, told Rudaw’s Hardi Mohammed on Wednesday that dozens of resettled Arabs had been ploughing on his land for three days with the alleged support of the Iraqi army. He said that when they tried to stop them, the resettled Arabs attacked with stones and guns.
Mohammed said he has all necessary documents to prove the ownership of the land.
“Four tractors were ploughing. The army says that they do not allow this but they are lying… because they are siding with them [Arabs]. They [army] do not allow me to plough,” he noted.
He and another person were injured during the attack. Mohammed said that he was briefly detained before being hospitalised.
PM Barzani said in a statement that these attacks are “concerning.”
“Attacking Kurdish farmers in Daquq district, Kirkuk province is concerning. I call on the Iraqi president, prime minister and the speaker of the Iraqi parliament to urgently end these attacks on the Kurdish farmers,” said Barzani.
He added that the attacks have been carried out by “some powerful people who illegally try to expel Kurds and confiscate their land.”
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