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A weekly brief of events and news occurred in the disputed territories.
Kirkuk
- On March 24, hundreds of Kurdish and Turkmen farmers who are natives of Topzawa and Tarkalan demonstrated against the Ministry of Defense and the Kirkuk Municipality’s attempts to occupy their land. The land ownership in the villages of Topzawa and Turkalan belongs to the Kurds and Turkmen. These lands were confiscated from their original owners by the Ba’ath regime in 1975 and became the property of the Ministries of Defense and Municipalities. On December 14, 2022, the Council of Ministers issued a decree (320), which changed the type of agricultural land to residential, provided that the ownership of the land returned to government ministries. The decision, which applies to the whole of Iraq, includes the villages of Topzawa and Tarkalan, as the lands of the two villages during the Ba’ath regime, became the property of the Ministries of Defense and Municipalities. The federal government’s decision is contrary to Article 140 of the constitution, which refers to the return of properties to their original owners. Additionally, in 2012 the Iraqi Council of Ministers Decision No. 29 decided to return all the land to their owners, but the decree was not implemented. The demonstration of Kurdish and Turkmen farmers came after the Ministry of Defense revealed plans to build a residential community for army officers on the lands.
- On March 27, the Iraqi parliament approved the law on provincial council elections scheduled for November 6. Article 37 was enacted under pressure from Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Turkish backed Turkmen politicians, granting Kirkuk a special status and depriving nearly 100,000 Kurds of the right to vote. The Article puts the current administrative boundaries of Kirkuk as a condition for voting rights, depriving Kirkuki Kurds living in several districts and subdistricts that is part of the province but suffered administrative changes by the former Iraqi regime. Moreover, since those districts remain under the disputed territories, voters will also be deprived to vote within their own new administrative map. The non-Kurdish parties considered the passing of the law as a victory while the Kurds were divided into two opinions. The law will also grant the right of voting for nearly 150,000 Arab settlers, brought by the former regime during the Arabization campaign. Few Kurdish groups are considering appealing the law at the supreme court.
- On March 29, security forces raided Khan Khurma market (Kirkuk warehouse) at the request of the Kirkuk municipality and closed the market. The move of the Kirkuk Municipality forced the business owners to vacate their shops and move to the new warehouse without compensation or providing them with free space in the new location. This move led to a demonstration by traders and later moved to the front of the Kirkuk municipality building. According to the protesters, their shops will be taken away from the current location without compensation, and each shop will be sold for $90,000 in the new warehouse. After no one listened to their demands, the demonstrators set up tents in front of the municipal building and went on strike until their demands were implemented.
- The International Chamber of Commerce ruled in Baghdad’s favor regarding the Iraqi government’s lawsuit targeting the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) independent oil exports. The ruling also suspended Kirkuk’s oil exports from March 25. The Iraqi government exports about 100,000 barrels of oil daily from the Kirkuk fields to the world markets via the Ceyhan pipeline.
- On March 30, Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir Shammari arrived at Kirkuk airport led by a high-level delegation.The Interior Minister was accompanied by the head of the intelligence agency, the director of ports and customs and the head of civil aviation. A high-level meeting was held at Kirkuk airport with the participation of the Kirkuk police director, the commander of operations and the governor of Kirkuk. According to the Interior Ministry, the purpose of the visit was to closely investigate the problems of Kirkuk airport and remove obstacles to the development of the airport. After nearly six months of opening, Kirkuk airport is facing the possibility of closure due to poor security quality and lack of international flights.
Khanaqin
- Four years later, the Balwand Dam in Khanaqin has overflowed again. The Alwand Dam Administration said in a statement in March that due to the recent wave of rains, the Balwand Dam has overflowed for the first time. Alwand Dam has a storage capacity of 38 million cubic meters of water. Between 2020 and 2022, the water level in the Dam had dropped by 90 percent due to drought and the cutting off of the water sources from Iran.
Tuz Khurmatu
- The provincial council elections law introduced a single-circuit system, undermining the Kurdish share in Salahaddin province. In a multi-circuit system, the Kurds could potentially secure 2 to 3 seats in the Salahaddin provincial council, but in the current single-circuit system, at best, the Kurds could win one seat. This is due to the Kurdish minority in the entire province of Salahaddin.
Shengal (Sinjar)
- On March 27, the Iraqi Ministry of Health announced the recovery of 30 bodies of Yazidi genocide victims from a mass grave. According to the statement, the forensic physician, in coordination with the mass grave excavation team, 30 bodies were recovered from four mass graves. The four graves are located in Hamadan village in Sinjar district.