Kirkuk is occupied and must be run by its people, says KDP official

A high-ranking member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Friday that the city of Kirkuk is currently occupied and should be managed by its people.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A high-ranking member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Friday that the city of Kirkuk is currently occupied and should be managed by its people.

"Kirkuk needs to be normalized. Kirkuk is currently occupied... the military factions must leave it," Kamal Kirkuki told Kurdistan 24 in an interview.

"The solution is to hand over the security and administrative files to the people of Kirkuk and its components and to choose a governor who is not biased toward any party." 

Kamal Kirkuki, a high-ranking KDP member and former speaker of the Kurdistan Region's parliament. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)
Kamal Kirkuki, a high-ranking KDP member and former speaker of the Kurdistan Region's parliament. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kirkuk, home to Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians, is the epicenter of contention between Erbil and Baghdad and the most prominent of the territories disputed by the two.

Article 140 was introduced into the Iraqi constitution to allow its 2005 ratification by kicking controversial decisions on the disputed territories down the road, but over a decade has passed since the 2007 deadline for the article's implementation.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kurds living in disputed territories believe the matter was settled after a majority, including in Kirkuk, voted for secession from Iraq in Kurdistan’s bid for independence in September 2017.

Shortly after, on Oct. 16, Iraqi security forces along with Hashd al-Shaabi militias overran the contested areas and forced Kurdish Peshmerga to retreat. Baghdad then installed Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri as governor of Kirkuk, ousting Najmaldin Karim, a Kurd who enjoyed enormous support among various ethnic and religious groups.

Since then, the Islamic State has continued to launch insurgent attacks in the province, with Kurdish officials repeatedly warning of the danger of a possible resurgence of the group.

On Jan. 8, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) raised the Kurdistan flag on its office in Kirkuk for the first time since the military takeover. On the following day, Iraq’s Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi called the action “a violation of the Iraqi constitution,” and ordered it taken down.