KRG condemns former Iraqi PM statement on 2017 assault on Kirkuk

"Iraq today is more than ever in need of a rational policy that distances itself from authoritarianism, bias, and the use of excessive force."
KRG Spokesman Jotiar Adil. (Photo: Archive)
KRG Spokesman Jotiar Adil. (Photo: Archive)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Saturday slammed a statement made by former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on the anniversary of his administration's 2017 attack on the then KRG-held Kirkuk province and other disputed territories.

Iraqi forces and Iran-aligned militias launched an assault on Kirkuk on October 16, 2017, a military operation masterminded by Iranian general Qasim Soleimani, in response to the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum that saw an overwhelming majority of Kurds vote in favor of statehood.

Soleimani, the former head of the Quds Forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, responsible for Tehran's extraterritorial operations, was killed in a US drone strike in January 2020 as Iraqi militias long-backed and trained by Iran repeatedly struck Iraqi bases hosting American troops.

Related Article: Crowd in Baghdad marks first anniversary of US drone strike that killed top Iranian general, militia leader

The operation against Kirkuk resulted in the ouster of the Kurdish Peshmerga and the province's then-governor, Najmadin Karim. He passed away in the United States after suffering a stroke in late 2020.

Since the 2017 operation, Kurds have been accusing Baghdad-imposed governor Rakan al-Jabouri of racist policies that actively discriminate against Kirkuk's Kurdish residents, who make up a majority of the province.

Kurdish officials have also said that Jabouri has been conducting Arabization campaigns akin to those of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in efforts to change the demography of the province to undermine the Kurdish vote there.

Related Article: Iraqi forces in Kirkuk raid Kurdish households, arrests nearly 50 youths for electoral celebration

Abadi's statement, which praised the assault on the Kurdish-majority areas, is an attempt "to cover up repeated failures," the latest of which was in the parliamentary election last week, KRG spokesperson Jotiar Adil said in response, referencing the former premier's poor showing in the vote.

The Iraqi politician's Alliance of Nation-State Forces, rebranded from the Victory Coalition in the 2018 vote, has only secured six seats in the 2021 election, per preliminary results, compared to the 42 seats it held in the previous 329-seat national assembly.

Adil added that the Iraqi people were "right in their choice" to side with other political movements and Shun Abadi's coalition. The former premier's decreasing popularity, the KRG official noted, indicates shortsightedness of "adventurous policies."

"Over the decades, history has proven the failure of attempts to break up the unity of the rank of Iraqis for personal reasons," Adil said.

The KRG "is looking forward to building a bright and stable future under whose tent all nationalities and religious and sectarian components will live, and renounce exclusivity, hegemony and the policy of subjugation," the spokesman affirmed.

"Iraq today is more than ever in need of a rational policy that distances itself from authoritarianism, bias, and the use of excessive force, and prevents the emergence of fanatic tendencies," the KRG statement concluded.