Washington Kurdish Institute
March 27, 2018
Since the Iraqi security forces and their Iranian-backed militias forcibly took control of Kirkuk Province on October 16, 2017, the people of the province have suffered under the instability and chaos resulting from the inability of these forces to implement security and order. Currently, security in the province is run de jure by a commander in Iraq’s anti-terror forces. However, the reality is that the de facto authorities in the province are the Iranian-backed militias. And under these new sovereigns, security in Kirkuk City and the province at large is at its worst point since its liberation from the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003.
Hawija District: A Hotbed of Insurgency and Terrorism
It is no secret that Hawija District, west of Kirkuk City, has been a stronghold for insurgent and terrorist group activity (e.g. ISIS, Al Qaeda). Insurgent groups have been launching attacks on Iraqi security forces and American soldiers from Hawija and its sub districts since 2003. With the rise of ISIS in 2014, it only took Hawija district four days to become a part of the so-called “caliphate.” Although the Iraqi government recently claimed victory over these forces in Hawija district, they actually did little to clear the area of ISIS. Rather, on October 5, 2017, when Iraqi central government forces and affiliated militias moved through the area, ISIS militants simply temporarily fled Hawija in a planned, strategic retreat. The Iraqi government forces and their militias were minimally involved in Hawija because their real target, as orchestrated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, was Kirkuk City, which was then controlled by Peshmerga forces. Hawija was simply a pitstop on the way to preparing an attack on Kurdish forces in the more strategically important Kirkuk City.
This planned assault came as a result of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq conducting an independence referendum in late September 2017. Prior to this referendum, the Iranian government had repeatedly warned the KRG against holding the independence vote, especially within the disputed territories (which included Kirkuk).
Now the Iraqi central government and, by proxy, the Iranian government controls Kirkuk City, yet Hawija district still remains under the purview of ISIS. And Hawija isn’t alone. Tikrit City and parts of Diyala Province are other areas where ISIS still wields influence and power. In all these areas, ISIS continues to launch attacks against both security forces and civilians. In addition, the majority of Internally Displaced People (IDP) who fled from ISIS since 2014 are still in Kirkuk City, fearing to return to their homes since ISIS continues to return to these other districts by night.
The security in Hawija is so bad that the acting Governor of Kirkuk, Rakan Saeed, a native of Hawija, still resides in Kirkuk City, with numerous bodyguards, for fear of attacks against him by ISIS.
Within the past month, ISIS has killed a significant number of Federal police, Hashd Al-Sha’abi militia members, and civilians. ISIS has conducted a number of these killings by setting up fake security checkpoints. A few of these attacks within the past week also occurred in Saladin Province near Hawija. Some of these attacks include:
- The kidnapping and execution of eight members of the Federal police, who were captured at a fake security checkpoint between Kirkuk and Baghdad.
- A transportation bus was shot, resulting in the death of six and the injury of 10 civilians.
- An I.E.D. attack on a vehicle inside Kirkuk City.
- An I.E.D. attack in front of a cafe in Kirkuk City.
- The bombing of an ancient Islamic tomb in Daquq district.
- An attack on Hashd Al-Sha’abi forces in Tuz Khurmatu district in Saladin Province.
For many reasons, these attacks are only expected to increase. For example, security and Hashd forces are often at a disadvantage since they are strangers to the province, hailing mainly for southern Iraq. While they do have battle-hardened experience from pushing ISIS out of Mosul and surrounding areas, they still lack the local knowledge and connections within Kirkuk Province and surrounding provinces in order to help them sustain an effective counter insurgency campaign.
The KRG Asayesh forces, who possessed extensive local knowledge and connections, were expelled from Kirkuk in October. Before they were forced to leave, these forces played a critical role in gathering and providing intelligence to police and security forces in the city and province at large. This vacuum in intelligence and counter insurgent knowledge and skill has yet to be filled.
In addition, prior to their expulsion, the KRG Peshmerga, who were stationed around Kirkuk City, did a much better job of denying ISIS militants freedom of movement throughout the area. Although ISIS attempted to attack and gain control of Kirkuk City numerous times between June 2014 and October 2017, Peshmerga forces, through their resilience and triumph were able to successfully thwart these repeated attempts and provide a level of security and stability unachieved so far by Iraqi government forces and the Hashd Al-Sha’abi militias.
Kurdish Displacement
With Iraqi government forces and their Iranian-backed militias taking control of Kirkuk Province in October, thousands of Kurds from Kirkuk City and Tuz Khurmatu still remain displaced. These Kurds and their families fled the area because of racist and sectarian attacks from the forces that took control of these areas. While these displaced locals are Kurdish and mostly Sunni, the Iraqi government and Hashd Al-Sha’abi forces are dominated by Shia Arabs and Turkmen. Adding to their plight, the majority of these displaced families have not been registered by the Iraqi government as official IDPs — this prevents them from receiving IDP-related aid and from participating in elections for their home provinces and districts.
In addition, several local Kurdish government officials have been removed from their positions by the Iraqi government and their security forces. And many Arab tribes have begun taking control of Kurdish lands, such as in Dibis district.
All of this reflects a pattern of behavior from the current Iraqi government similar to its Baath regime predecessor — that is, behavior promoting ethnic cleansing and forced, strategic demographic change. By continuing its continual refusal to implement Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which calls for a resolution to the disputed territories issue, the Iraqi government, through these policies of forced demographic change, are solidifying their control of the oil-rich Kirkuk Province and assuring their future political dominance in the area through the denial of displaced Kurds from the voting booth.
Kurds are Targets.
Iraqi security forces and Hashd Al-Sha’abi militants have violently targeted and continue to violently target Kurds in these disputed territories. For example, several Kurds have been detained by these forces, without being clearly charged with any offense. Many of those illegally detained are members of Asayesh (Kurdish intelligence) or prominent members of Kurdish political parties. In addition, several journalists have been targeted, such as Arkan Sharifi, a Kurdish journalist, who was killed in his home in Daquq district.
On March 20, 2018, Kurds in Kirkuk celebrating Newroz (Kurdish New Year) by waving the flag of Kurdistan, were attacked by Iraqi government anti-terror forces. Despite the fact that Newroz is recognized as an official holiday in Iraq and the Kurdistan flag is legally recognized by Iraqi law, Iraqi security forces not only fired bullets over the heads of the crowd, but also physically attacked Kurdish youth who were holding Kurdish flags.
Turkey’s Negative Role in Kirkuk
The Iranian government isn’t the only pernicious foreign influence in Kirkuk Province — Turkey also plays a problematic role in the region, especially through their ethnic Turkmen proxies. Some of these proxies are local Turkmen politicians. On October 16, several of these Turkmen politicians not only spread anti-Kurdish propaganda but also reported numerous Kurds to Iraqi security and Hashd Al-Sha’abi forces. Many of the official Turkmen media outlets refer to the Kurds as “separatists,” yet these same Turkmen groups hypocritically raise and wield Turkey’s flag at many of their events. In fact, the official flag of one of the major Turkmen parties in Iraq, the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), is a blue version of Turkey’s flag. In addition, Turkish government leaders and officials themselves often make public statements promising to retake Kirkuk and Mosul as a part of an expanded Neo-Ottoman empire.
While these Turkmen “separatists” get a pass from Iraqi security forces, the Kurdish population remains a prime target for abuse and repression. This cooperation with pro-Turkey Turkmen forces goes all the way to the top of the Iraqi government. Recently, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi worked with Turkey’s government on an effort, involving their respective governments’ intelligence agencies and foreign affairs offices, to repair and solidify the relationship between Iraqi Turkmen political parties and local Sunni Arabs. This relationship-building effort was done with an eye towards excluding and disempowering the Kurds. Both powers seem dead set on collaborating to suppress the Kurdish vote, and thus remove local Kurdish political representation, in Kirkuk and the disputed territories, and instead bolster an Arab-Turkmen alliance of power in the area.
An Insecure Future
Since October 16, the people of Kirkuk have been victims of meddling regional actors, ruthless terrorist organizations, and insufficient local security. In addition, the acting governor of Kirkuk appears incapable of handling the responsibility of providing basic services (e.g. electricity, water, and waste disposal) to his people. The October 2017 attack on and change of authority in Kirkuk, which was orchestrated by Iran, Turkey, and the Iraqi central government, was supposed to usher in stable, “law enforcement” for the area. Yet the current reality on the ground is one of lawlessness, where citizens, especially Kurdish ones, are left with not only a weaker political voice but also with a constant threat of brutal violence being exercised against them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rmOK0dJlhg