Iraqi forces arrest Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk province

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi militias on Sunday surrounded several villages and arrested Kurdish farmers in the Sargaran sub-district of Kirkuk province.

Dashti Agha, a farmer from Palkana village, told Kurdistan24 that the Iraqi army has thus far arrested seven farmers.

"There is no legal basis for the arrest of these farmers, and everyone is doing their jobs on their own land. What the Iraqi army is doing is at the request of resettled Arabs," Mr. Agha added.

Meanwhile, residents of Sargaran told Kurdistan 24 that they call on Kurdish leadership to intervene and end the oppression they face.

As a multi-ethnic province, Kirkuk has long been the subject of dispute among Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs. 

In the 1970s, the former Ba'athist regime began a massive campaign to change the demography of the province, resettling Arabs and seizing lands owned by Kurds, who today often resort to using Ottoman-era titles and deeds to prove their case.

Ratified in 2005, Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution stipulates that the status of the province is to be decided by conducting a census, followed by a referendum, and an ensuing de-Arabization of the area.