Another Kurdish director in Kirkuk removed, replaced by Shia Turkman

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A Shia Turkman on Wednesday replaced the Agricultural Director of Kirkuk’s Daquq district, and the previous Kurdish director has been informed of his dismissal, according to a provincial official.

Mahdi Kakayi, the head of Kirkuk’s Agriculture Department who currently resides in Erbil, told Kurdistan 24 that the Kurdish Director of Daquq’s Agriculture Office, Azad Abdullah, has been directed by the Governor of the province of Kirkuk, Rakan Saeed, not to return to his office. No reason was given for his removal.

“Abdullah has been replaced by Abbas Fakhraddin, a Shia Turkman national,” Kakayi said.

On Oct. 16, Iraqi forces and the Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia attacked and took over the oil-rich and multi-ethnic province of Kirkuk which had been under the protection of the Kurdish Peshmerga since 2014 following the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) and the collapse of the Iraq army.

Over 180,000 people from Kirkuk and other disputed territories fled to the Kurdistan Region out of fear of human rights violations and abuses at the hand of the militia groups. 

Arab and Shia Turkmen farmers reportedly approached the Daquq Agriculture Director to claim the lands of Kurds who had fled in the aftermath of the takeover. The now-removed Director rejected their official requests several times, prompting them to push the current acting-Governor of Kirkuk to dismiss the Kurdish official, according to Kakayi.

On Wednesday, Kurdish farmers held demonstrations in front of the Agricultural Office in Daquq, complaining that their lands had been confiscated by Arab and Shia Turkmen farmers.  

Since Oct. 16, roughly 80 Kurdish officials in Kirkuk have been removed from their posts; Among them are the Governor, Kirkuk’s Security Director, the Mayors of Kirkuk city, Dibis, Daquq, and Khurmatu, as well as the District and Suburban Police Director.

Kirkuk is one of the most diverse provinces in the country, and is made up of Turkmen, Arabs, Christians, and a Kurdish majority.

The province is a disputed territory which has undergone several Arabization processes throughout history with the aim of changing its demographics.

Kurdish political analysts in Kirkuk assert that since Oct. 16, the province is facing another demographic change, but this time of a sectarian nature, calling it a ‘Shia-fication’ process.

Editing by Nadia Riva

(Soran Kamaran and Hemin Dalo contributed to this report)