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Kirkuk
- Kirkuk’s administration plans to demolish 2,000 homes of the Kaka’is Kurdish minorities in the Asra neighborhood, claiming the homes were built “illegally.” The administration plans to build a new road on the land but refuses to compensate the families, many of which will end up homeless.
- Due to shortages of medicine, families of patients hospitalized at the General Hospital of Kirkuk held a protest in front of the hospital on Tuesday, March 29th. The protestors blocked traffic and complained about the poor conditions at the hospital. Due to the lack of medicine at the hospital, the families have resorted to buying medicine at private pharmacies.
- On March 31th, President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faiq Zaida, visited Kirkuk and opened the new building of Kirkuk’s court, “Justice Palace” with the acting governor of Kirkuk, Rakan al Jabouri. However, the building title is only in Arabic, excluding Kurdish, a constitutionally recognized language of Iraq. This policy of “only Arabic” has been in place since October 16, 2017. The palace’s construction was started in 2014 by Governor Najmaldin Karim and ended in 2017, but its opening was delayed until this week.
- According to a statement by Kirkuk’s administration, Iraq’s prime minister Mustafa al Kadhmi vowed to open Kirkuk’s airport “as soon as possible“ after meeting the acting, imposed governor, al Jabouri on March 27th. Construction of Kirkuk’s airport has been completed, but it remains unopened due to poor security. Separately, In a television interview, Kamal Kirkuki, Chairman of the Kirkuk-Garmian Command Council for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said his party rejected meeting requests by the acting governor, al Jabouri, after several attempts. Kirkuki said the refusal to meet al Jabouri was due to the “unconstitutionality” as a governor and the “Arabization” policies against the Kurds by al Jabouri’s administration.
- The Turkish backed-lawmaker Arshad Salihi called Kurds of the Tavgari Azadi party “terrorists” after celebrating Newroz in the Shwan District. Though Tevgari Azadi is ideologically linked with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), it has been registered in Iraq and run by Iraqi Kurds. Salihi called upon the Iraqi government to “stop” their activities. Separately, Salihi, leader of the Turkmen bloc in Iraq’s parliament, failed to convince his colleagues to participate in the parliamentary session for the presidential election last week. The Turkmen bloc announced participation, siding with the largest coalition, but five of its Shia members, backed by Iran, rejected participation, continuing friction in the Turkmen bloc.
- On Saturday, March 26, the Jordanian Assistant Secretary-General for Energy Affairs, Hassan Al Hiyari, said they reached an agreement with Iraq, continuing the export of 10,000 barrels per day from Kirkuk fields to Jordan’s Petroleum Refinery in Zarqa. Kirkuk’s oil exports to Jordan halted in February of 2022 due to ongoing talks over the agreement. According to the agreement, the oil exports will resume on April 1st. Iraq exported 1,505,000 barrels from September 2021 to January 2022.
- Kirkuk police announced the arrest of ten people for drug dealing and usage. According to the police statement, thirty drug dealers have been arrested so far in 2022. Since October 16, 2017, Kirkuk has become the main route for drug traffickers, including Iranian-backed militia members.
- ISIS (Da’esh) continued attacks against the security forces, including killing two Iraqi soldiers on March 26 near the Rokana valley after hours-long clashes.
Khanaqin
- Two Kurdish lawmakers from Khanaqin sent a memorandum to Iraq’s interior ministry, demanding the pause of transferring Arabs to the town, since it is part of the disputed territories. They demand the pause continue until article 140 of the constitution is implemented. Like Kirkuk, Khanaqin has been facing a new Arabization policy since 2017, and the Iraqi government has forced demographic changes by settling non-Kurds in Kurdish areas. Meanwhile, a Kurdish official in Khanaqin called for the return of Kurds to twenty villages in their native Khanaqain. They have been displaced since 2017. Though the area is liberated from Daesh, a lack of security and primary services prevents people from returning to their homes.
Tuz Khurmatu
- On March 27th, Peshmerga Special Forces from the 144th division foiled a Da’esh attempt to kidnap three Shepherds near Ghara valley. The Peshmerga forces said they spotted five terrorists on motorcycles attempting to kidnap shepherds who were searching for their lost cattle. The area is near the vacuum between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi forces, where Da’esh terrorists operate freely.
Shingal (Sinajr)
- The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is sponsoring a large conference on the Yazidi Genocide in Shingal, organized by several Yazidi organizations. The conference is set to take place in May.