Kurdistan Region cracks down on criminal use of public lands, asserts rule of law's primacy

Mustafa Shilani 2021/09/16 22:50

Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw supervises a meeting of the Erbil Security Council, Sept. 16, 2021. (Photo: Erbil Governorate)

Kurdistan Erbil law Security Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – During a meeting with the governor of Erbil on Thursday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the importance of security in the autonomous region of Iraq, establishing a new team to prevent criminal gangs from unauthorized use of public property, including building unauthorized residences.

Erbil Security Council held a meeting in the afternoon that was headed by Governor Omid Khoshnaw in order to put an end to a recent phenomenon in which armed men attempt to intimidate individuals in efforts to seize portions of public property by force, according to a provincial government statement.

Barzani, participated in the meeting remotely directing security forces to “hold anyone who attempts to seize lands and public property by force responsible before the law,” emphasizing that “the law must be above all.”

“During the meeting, Prime Minister Barzani affirmed his full support to Erbil Security Council in confronting anyone who attempts to take over the public property by force,” the statement added.

The statement explained that the council ultimately decided to establish a special security operation room tasked with authorizing security forces to arrest all those found to have seized public property or those who fail to comply with security forces carrying out such duties and turn them over to the judiciary system.

The issue was put on the front burner after two Peshmerga force members were badly wounded on Wednesday while attempting to demolish a residence that had been illegally built on public land. As they began, the self-styled "owners" first resisted the order and then and fired weapons at the soldiers, resulting in an armed confrontation.

The Peshmerga forces were part of a Zeravani unit that typically accompanies municipal field teams that determine which structures have been illegally built.

In early August, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) took steps to shutter all existing makeshift oil refineries it deems illegal in Erbil province, citing pollution and health risks to nearby populations.

Out of a total of 130 such facilities in Erbil, security forces "have shut down 55" and are working to terminate the rest, said Sherko Jawdat, a member of the regional parliament's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to Kurdistan 24 at the time.