Iraqi Parliament Security and Defense Committee visits Kirkuk
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Parliament's Security and Defense Committee is scheduled to visit Kirkuk on Tuesday to investigate the city's recent unrest and security situation.
Mariwan Qarani, a member of the Security and Defense Committee, confirmed to Kurdistan 24 that the Committee will investigate the recent tensions and the killing of four Kurdish protesters in Kirkuk.
On Sept. 9, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker, Mohammed al-Halboosi, issued two directives regarding Kirkuk events and Kurdistan's oil revenues. One of the directives instructed the Security and Defense Committee to investigate Kirkuk events and present its findings to Parliament.
A protest took place on Sept. 2 by Kurds against the closure of the Kirkuk-Erbil road by the supporters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), following the latter's opposition to the handover of the KDP headquarters on Aug. 28, as mandated by Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani. Four Kurds were killed and fifteen were injured after the PMF opened fire on the protesters.
Kirkuk is home to a mix of ethnicities, primarily among them Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. It is the most symbolic of territories disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region.
The oil-rich province was under Kurdish Peshmerga forces' protection after the emergence of ISIS in 2014 and the subsequent collapse of the Iraqi army, until the takeover of the province by the PMF in Oct. 2017.