Kurdish residents of disputed Kirkuk village say new 'Arabization' underway

Residents of a village in the disputed province of Kirkuk say that they are preparing for the worst-case scenario after repeated attempts by ethnic Arab Iraqis from other cities to seize their properties.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Residents of a village in the disputed province of Kirkuk say that they are preparing for the worst-case scenario after repeated attempts by ethnic Arab Iraqis from other cities to seize their properties.

One man from the village, Palkana, told Kurdistan 24, "Most of them came from Rabia, Mosul, Tikrit, Kirkuk, and Hawija, aiming to seize the homes of Kurds and repeat what happened six decades ago."

Starting in 1963, Kurds living in Palkana and many other locations were forced to leave their homes and Arabs were moved in as apart of the Iraqi government's intentional change in local demographics known as "Arabization." Following the fall of the former regime in 2003, large numbers of Kurdish families returned to such areas, often with Kurdish Peshmerga forces providing security. 

In its hostile reaction to the Kurdistan Region's 2017 independence referendum, the Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) attacked Peshmerga in Kirkuk and other disputed territories, pushing them from the areas. Since then, according to Kurds from Palkana and some 40 other villages in the Kirkuk's Sargaran district, some Arab Iraqis have come back to reclaim lands they consider theirs after being given to them by the former government. 

Another Palkana resident who spoke to Kurdistan 24 said that those returning have carried out looting and the confiscation of property by force, adding, "So far, they have seized nine houses here and they have plans to take over the entire village."

Kurdish locals say that the newcomers are presenting documents issued at the time of the former government to prove their ownership of the land and many have set up tents in the middle of the village to live in while waiting for Kurds to abandon their properties.

Tents in the village of Palkana that local Kurdish residents say have been set up by ethnic Arab Iraqis who are attempting to seize property in Iraq's disputed province of Kirkuk. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Tents in the village of Palkana that local Kurdish residents say have been set up by ethnic Arab Iraqis who are attempting to seize property in Iraq's disputed province of Kirkuk. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdish residents warn that such practices could trigger a serious conflict between local Kurds and the Arabs, saying that they are preparing an escalation. 

Security in Kirkuk and other disputed territories has been on the decline since the forced withdrawal of the Kurdish Peshmerga who had been protecting them for years in many areas, something Palkana residents say is to the advantage of those now attempting to seize the property.

Article 140, a provision that outlines a mechanism to solve the issue of the disputed territories, was introduced into the Iraqi constitution to allow its 2005 ratification by kicking the controversial decisions down the road. Over a decade has passed since the 2007 deadline for its implementation.

Editing by John J. Catherine