Kirkuk Minute | April 25, 2024

by Washington Kurdish Institute April 25, 2024

A biweekly brief of events and news occurred in the disputed territories.

Kirkuk

On Friday, April 26, two one-way drones struck the Dana Gas Company in the Khor Mor Gas fields in the Qadir Karam district. This attack resulted in the tragic loss of four company workers, with several others sustaining injuries. While no specific group has claimed responsibility, Iranian-backed militias are widely accused of orchestrating the terrorist acts. The victims of this attack were workers from Yemen, prompting international condemnation. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued a statement revealing that gas supplies to power plants have been halted due to the attack, causing a significant reduction of about 2,500 megawatts of electricity in the region.
Kaka Rash Sadeq, the head of the Article 140 committee in Kirkuk, disclosed that approximately 27,000 Kurdish families are still awaiting compensation from the federal government. While 845 families are set to receive compensation this year, the majority are awaiting the completion of their paperwork. Article 140 of Iraq’s 2005 constitution mandates compensation for Kurdish families who suffered demographic changes and displacement under the former Iraqi regime, yet tens of thousands of individuals have yet to receive adequate compensation.

On April 17, Kurdish and Turkmen farmers jointly held a press conference to protest against amendments to legislation that would dissolve the laws of the former Iraqi regime’s Ba’ath council. The farmers argue that these amendments represent a “restoration” of al Ba’ath laws targeting Kurds and Turkmen, demanding the full restoration of their rights, including the return of confiscated lands. Despite the Iraqi government’s decision to cancel old Ba’ath party laws in 2012, the new amendments fail to return all the farmlands confiscated by the regime to Kurdish and Turkmen farmers, some of which were allocated to settlers and the ministry of defense. The Iraqi ministry of defense’s attempts to build military complexes on Kurdish lands in Topzawa since last year have further fueled resentment among the native landowners. Activists have urged the federal government to erect a monument at a site in Topzawa where massacres against civilian Kurds occurred in 1987.
Following the completion of renovations to the Kirkuk-Mosul-Turkey pipeline, the Ministry of Oil conducted a second test on April 21. This pipeline had been damaged during the emergence of ISIS (Da’esh) in 2014. However, the Iraqi oil ministry has yet to announce the resumption of oil exports to Turkey. Additionally, the oil ministry unveiled a new oil well drilling project in the Bai Hassan field. Well number 199, located near the Dibis district, has reached a depth of 1810 meters.

On April 16, a joint operation was executed by the Kurdistan Commando Forces, Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces, the 16th Peshmerga Brigade, and coalition forces in the Rokhana Valley between Tuz Khurmatu and Kifri districts. Coalition warplanes provided crucial air support to the ground forces, targeting and bombing ISIS (Da’esh) terrorist hideouts and movements. The Kurdistan Commando Forces reported that five ISIL terrorists were neutralized, including two individuals holding the rank of “Amir”. Since October 16, 2017, ISIS terrorists have intensified their activities in the disputed territories following the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces by the Iraqi government.

On April 19, Yazidi Kurdish workers made a grim discovery – a new mass grave containing victims of the 2014 genocide in Sipa Shekhdri. Road construction workers stumbled upon the mass grave, which holds the remains of dozens of Yazidis who fell victim to ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists. According to 964media, this newly unearthed mass grave marks the 93rd discovered since 2014.