Two Kurdish Farmers Arrested, Tractors Seized by Iraqi Forces in Kirkuk

Erbil (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces arrested two Kurdish farmers and seized their tractors on Thursday while they were working their land in the village of Shanagha, located in the Sargaran subdistrict northwest of Kirkuk, according to Kurdistan 24’s correspondent in the province. The incident marks another example of the persistent tensions in the Kurdish-inhabited areas outside the Kurdistan Region’s administration.

Local sources identified the detained farmers as Samad Karim and Nashat Rahman. They were reportedly arrested by a unit of the Iraqi army while plowing their fields and later handed over to the Sargaran Police Department.

A fellow villager told Kurdistan 24 that, “the army did not stop at the arrest — they also confiscated the two agricultural tractors the farmers were using.”

According to the same source, the two men were released later on bail following the intervention of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) officials in the area. However, their confiscated tractors have not yet been returned.

This latest incident comes amid repeated complaints from Kurdish farmers about harassment and detentions carried out by Iraqi forces in the disputed territories — Kurdistani territories outside the KRG's administrative control— since the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces on Oct. 16, 2017, following the events in Kirkuk.

Local residents say they continue to face systematic attempts by Arab settlers to seize farmlands that have been owned by Kurdish families for decades.

The Iraqi Parliament had previously annulled agricultural laws enacted during the Baath regime, which had transferred ownership of lands to certain groups at the expense of the original Kurdish farmers. Yet, locals say these reforms remain largely unenforced in Kirkuk, the Nineveh Plains, and Khanaqin, deepening the tensions among the region’s communities.