ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A group of Kurdish villagers from Daquq, southern Kirkuk headed to Baghdad last week to demand government action to protect them from the Islamic State (ISIS) resurgence underway in their province. One week on and little has changed.
“We visited the interior minister and Iraqi president in Baghdad. We told them that if they do not find a solution for us we will abandon our villages. We also told them that people – young and old – are terrified,” said Aziz Abu Khanjar, a resident of the Kakai village of Topzawa who was part of the delegation.
The delegation of villagers called on Baghdad to protect them or else allow them to protect themselves. Villagers who spoke to Rudaw say they have not yet given up hope of Iraqi officials delivering on their promises to help.
Iraqi President Barham Salih formed a committee to visit these villages and prepare a report for him, according to Dilan Ghafour, a Kurdish lawmaker in Baghdad who accompanied the delegation. The findings of the committee are yet to be published.
There was no statement from Iraqi Presidency regarding the visit.
ISIS appears to be specifically targeting the Kakais, who have 15 villages in Daquq. The Kakais are a Kurdish ethno-religious group concentrated in Daquq, Khanaqin, and Nineveh. They protected themselves against an ISIS offensive in 2014 after Iraqi troops fled the area.
Saeed Hawaz is a resident of the Kakai village of Saeed Walla in Daquq. He says they abandon their villages during the night, fearing ISIS attack.
“We have livestock and farms here. We come to work on these in daylight but we cannot stay for the night because it is not secure,” Hawaz said.
ISIS seized control of swathes of territory across in Iraq 2014. The group was declared defeated by former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi in December 2017. However, remnants of the group have returned to earlier insurgency tactics.
The group has attacked security forces in Daquq four times in two weeks, planting roadside bombs and firing mortars at villages.
One Wednesday, ISIS claimed responsibility for Monday’s killing of four Iraqi policemen in Daquq. Federal police have only confirmed the death of one, named as Yasir Mohammed.
Iraqi forces launched an operation against the group following the incident.
A Pentagon report in early August warned that “ISIS is rebuilding in remote territory, which is hard for Iraqi forces to secure,” and is “able to recruit in these areas [Iraq’s northern and western provinces] using family and tribal connections”.
Iraqi security forces have launched several operations to eradicate ISIS remnants and sleeper cells in areas bordering Syria and Kurdistan Region.
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