PM Barzani, Sunni coalition leader call for normalizing situation in Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and a Sunni coalition leader on Thursday called for normalizing the situation in Kirkuk, days after the multi-ethnic and oil-rich province witnessed a period of unrest.

Prime Minister Barzani received Siyada (Sovereignty) Coalition leader Khamis Khanjar in Erbil, where they highlighted the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad as well as the latest political developments in the country.

Barzani and Khanjar expressed their concerns regarding the recent unrest in Kirkuk province, according to a government statement. They called for normalizing the situation in the city, where four Kurdish protestors were killed while 15 others were wounded on Saturday afternoon. 

Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Reber Ahmed attended the meeting as well. 

Kurdish protestors early this week called for removing the sit-in by the Shiite militia forces that were protesting the return of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to the province, where the party has ceased all its operations since 2017 in protest of the military takeover of the city by the Iranian-backed militias. 

Regarding the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad, the two leaders reiterated the importance of resolving the long-standing disputes based on the Iraqi constitution.

Kurdish civil servants have not received their salaries for two months as Baghdad has not yet released the Kurdish share in the Iraqi budget adopted in June 2023. 

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday called on Baghdad to pay the Region's share immediately based on the agreements and in accordance with the budget's figures. 

Since its adoption in early June, KRG has alleged the budget has not been implemented properly by the government. Instead of paying the Kurdish share, they allege Baghdad has released allowances to Erbil in order to cover the public salaries. The KRG has previously said the 500 billion dinars (over $384 million) is not sufficient to pay the salaries. 

Hailed as one of the country’s biggest budgets, the state expenditures were set at 198.91 trillion Iraqi dinars ($153 billion), with a deficit of more than 64 trillion dinars (over $48 billion).

The Kurdistan Region’s share in the federal budget is set at 12.67 percent, amounting to more than $12 billion annually.

The management of oil and gas has been among the thorny issues between Erbil and Baghdad for over a decade, leading to the suspension of the Region’s share in previous federal budgets.