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Kirkuk
- On July 16th, the Turkish-backed lawmaker Arshad Salihi posted a video on his Facebook page calling the city’s residents of the “Kurdistan” neighborhood thieves, murderers, and gangsters. Salihi attributed all the problems of drugs, theft, and crimes to the Kurdish neighborhood, which has a population of about 15,000 families. Kurdish parties denounced Salihi’s remarks and accused him of creating “ethnic and sectarian war.” Since 2003, Salihi has consistently launched racist comments against Kurds and Arabs. Activists have also criticized Salihi for not denouncing Turkey for the massacre it committed against Iraqi tourists on July 20th as the head of the Human Rights Committee (HRC) in the Iraqi parliament.
- On July 18th, for the third time in three weeks, attackers targeted the home of a female lawyer named Wafa Aziz with grenades. In a press conference, Aziz accused a fugitive police officer named Luay Mohammed, who was “sentenced to death.” Aziz said she was the attorney for a case and that the fugitive officer demanded her “closing the case.” The first two attacks were carried out on July 3rd and 8th.
- The Turkish bombardment on Arab tourists in the Kurdistan Region, which killed nine and wounded thirty civilians, sparked protests across the country, including in Kirkuk. Several activists stormed Turkey’s Visa Issuance Center and shut it down.
- On July 19th, the Integrity Commission announced the arrest of two employees in Kirkuk for forging the seal of government departments. The employees work in the North Oil Company (NOC) and the Estate department.
- On July 18th, Tahrir al Obeidi, the representative of the Arab Council Party, led by the acting governor Rakan al Jabouri filed a complaint on behalf of Arab settlers, demanding the restoration of the former regime’s policies in giving Kurdish lands to the settlers. Al Obeidi is the daughter of Ahmed Hassan al Obeidi, a former Iraqi intelligence officer who’s wanted by the US with a 200,000 US dollar bounty. Previously, Hanan Munzir Naseef Jassim, director of the legal office at the Ministry of Justice, prevented the return of Kurdish lands from the settlers. Hanan is also the daughter of a former Iraqi regime official, Munzir Naseef Jassim.
- The acting governor Rakan al Jabouri allocated 22% of new federal hirings to the Arab majority, Hawija district. Initially, the Kirkuk governorate planned to allocate the one thousand new jobs by giving 33% each to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. The recent move will grant the Arab minority 60% of the new jobs. Kurds, who compose more than 50% of Kirkuk’s population will receive only 25%. Since October 16th, 2017 events, Baghdad and Kirkuk’s administration have restored the Arabization policies of the Ba’ath party.
Khanaqin
- After ten days of electricity cuts, residents of the Malik neighborhood demonstrated in front of the mayor’s office, demanding a “solution” for deteriorating services in the town. Khanaqin’s average temperatures are between 113 to 127 degrees Fahrenheit. The officials said the transformer issue caused the shortage, but after more than ten days, the electricity department could not fix it. Separately, a Kurdish party official warned that 80% of Kurds in thirty villages are displaced due to security “fears and harassment.” ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists have been active in Khanqin since October 16th, 2017.
Tuz Khurmatu
- During a press conference, Hassan Zein al-Abdin, the mayor of Khurmatu district, said the Kirkuk administration has “cut water resources” in the town for six days, depriving 200,000 residents. Al Abdin described Kirkuk’s decisions as “punishment” and called for the immediate release of water. In 1975, Tuz Khurmatu became part of Saladin province, but Kirkuk supplies its waters.
- On July 19th, several Shia Turkmen protested the decisions of Saladin’s province to remove the head of the municipality and replace him with a Sunni Arab. Protesters accused the governor of a “sectarian” policy.
Makhmour
- On July 19th, the Peshmerga forces, the Iraqi army, and the US-led coalition jointly conducted a military operation to control Mount Qara Chokh from Da’esh terrorists. The operation lasted two days, with heavy clashes. Babakir Zebari, the military advisor to the Kurdistan Region’s president, told the media;” Mount Qara Chokh has been cleared of Da’esh, and several bases and tunnels have been discovered.” Zebari also said that the Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army “have met,” and there isn’t any security vacuum between the two forces.