Kurds in Kurdistan, diaspora protest in front of UN, US offices against Shia militia attacks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Kurds in the Kurdistan Region and the diaspora on Saturday gathered before the United Nations office in Erbil as well as US Embassies across Europe to protest the recent attack by Iranian-backed Shia militia Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraqi forces in Kirkuk and other disputed areas.

The demonstrations were a continuation of calls from Kurds in the Region and the diaspora earlier in the week urging the UN and US to intervene and protect the rights of the people of Kurdistan.

“The Peshmerga were there to defend the international community against the Islamic State (IS),” one protestor said. “Now, the world has turned its back on the Peshmerga.”

On Tuesday, demonstrators gathered in front of the UN compound in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil to protest the lack of a strong response to the advance of Iraqi and Shia militias in the city of Kirkuk.

“The Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] is following developments in the Kirkuk Governorate very closely,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, stated on Monday.

“[Guterres] appeals to the Federal Government [of Iraq] and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to take coordinated steps to prevent and avoid further clashes, escalation, or breakdown of law and order,” Dujarric added.

The UN statement was released in the aftermath of Kirkuk’s takeover by Shia militia Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, protestors also marched before the US Consulate General in Erbil on Friday, expressing their rage at the irony of Iraqi and Shia forces attacking Kurds, an ally of the US, using American-supplied weapons.

The people of the Kurdistan Region, including those from the city of Kirkuk who have lost their homes after the attack, were outraged at America’s inaction as the Shia militia’s looted and burned Kurdish houses.

(Mewan Dolamari contributed to this report)