Shia militia deploys more forces in Kirkuk

Erbil, Kurdistan Region (K24)—Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iraqi Shiite militia, continues deployment in southern Kirkuk, increasing the number of forces to 4000 fighters. Inhabitants are concerned that Tuz Khormato incident would be repeated where Kurdish properties were burnt down and civilians were kidnapped by the militia.

Abu Saib Brigade commander of PMU forces in Kirkuk told K24 “We have good coordination with the Kurds and Peshmerga forces. We are here to protect Kirkuk and if we leave the frontlines now, Islamic State militants will control it.”

Brigadier Sarhad Kader director of districts and Sub-districts of Kirkuk Police said that “Hashd [PMU] fighters have been deployed to the areas since the beginning of the war with IS and they are still in their positions near the town of Bashir.”

PMU was formed by the former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after a fatwa by Ali al-Sistani, Iranian cleric in Iraq, following the retreat of the Iraqi army in Mosul and most Sunni-populated areas in June 2014. The militia forces have been deployed in Tuz Khormato near Kirkuk for more than a year.

Regarding the threat of the Shiite militia forces to Kirkuk, the governor Najmaddin Kareem speaking to K24 said, “Kirkuk is not Tuz Khormato; Peshmerga forces are protecting the city.”

Last month confrontations took place between PMU and Peshmerga forces in Tuz Khormato in Saladin province where the Shiite militia attacked Peshmerga check-points and burned down Kurds’ houses and shops of in the city.

(Soran Kamaran from Kirkuk contributed to this report)