Lives of Khurmatu Kurds wishing to return home at risk: Mayor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The lives of all Kurds who wish to return to Khurmatu (Tuz Khurmatu) are at risk according to the town’s ousted mayor.

Following the Oct. 16 attack and takeover of Kirkuk and surrounding areas by Iraqi Forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias, over 170,000 people were displaced to the Kurdistan Region’s cities, dozens of thousands of which were from the town of Khurmatu.

“Hashd al-Shaabi militias want to replace law enforcement and local security forces in the area with their own people,” the former Mayor of Khurmatu, Shalal Abdul, told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

“There is a real security threat, and it is a risk to the lives of every Kurdish individual wishing to return to Khurmatu, including myself,” Abdul said.

He mentioned that under the current circumstances, civilians, Peshmerga and security forces, as well as political parties and their members cannot safely return to the area.

“I won’t return if my people cannot go back to Khurmatu without guarantees they will be able to lead a normal life, free of any threats.”

In the aftermath of the Oct. 16 violent takeover, Abdul was ousted from his post by the Governor of Diyala, Muthana al-Timimi, and a new Shia Turkmen official was appointed as the new Mayor of Khurmatu.

Since Oct. 16 attack, Shia militias had burned, looted, and destroyed over 2,450 Kurdish houses and shops, a Diyala Provincial Council Member, Mala Hassan, told a local newspaper.

“What we know is that the militias intend to burn 450 more Kurdish houses in Khurmatu area,” Hassan stated.

The town is located in the south of Kirkuk, with a diverse ethnic and religious population and a Kurdish majority. Khurmatu is historically claimed to be one of the last towns in the Kurdistan Region located on the administrative border of the Federal Government of Iraq and is currently under the control of Baghdad.

Recently, hundreds of Khurmatu people protesting in Garmiyan called on the UN, the Kurdish government, and the Federal Government of Iraq to help them return to their homes and provide security, and if necessary, send UN peacekeeping forces to the area.

The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Nechrivan Barzani, on Monday also asked Baghdad to form a committee to investigate the situation in Khurmatu and surrounding areas in the Kirkuk Province.

Editing by Nadia Riva