Recent Developments in Kirkuk

The overall situation in Iraq has changed dramatically after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) attacks that began in Mosul but spread throughout the country in June. These attacks resulted in the death, injury and capture of many people. At the same time, many people had been displaced and had to migrate to several different cities within the country. Similarly, ISIS also tried to ensure its domain around Kirkuk and these attempts have affected the daily life of the city.

Since the first day of ISIS attacks in June, the city of Kirkuk has been hosting a large number of families that displaced from Mosul, Tal Afar, Diyala and Salahuddin that were under attacks. There are two camps which have not suffered from security troubles in Yayhava and Leylan, out of Kirkuk. The Yahyava camp, which hosts only Turkmens, was established on land allocated by Kays Beyoğlu, one of the locals, and has been helping Iraqi families with the assistance of Turkmen institutions and organizations as well as Turkey. According to the officials, Iraqi government does not provide assistance to Yahyava camp. Actually, Iraqi government does not help any camp at all. Each day more families are coming to the Yahyava camp; hence this leads to an increase in the place shortage and needs. The Leylan camp hosts more Arab families however there are families from other goups of Iraq as well. The Leylan Camp has much better facilities and conditions rather than the Yahyava Camp as this camp gets assistance from Iraqi Government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Turkey as well as many international institutions and organizations. In addition to these two camps, there are many displaced families living in the city center of Kirkuk. It is possible to see those families staying in unfinished building constructions or patchy tents in neighborhood. Another organization taking care of displaced families and camps in Kirkuk is the Department of Immigrants and Displacement.

ISIS, which is around Kirkuk since June, conducted an operation against villages in the region in January. After the operation, ISIS seized Molla Abdulla, Tel El Verd, Mektep Halit and Meryembeg villages and carried out bomb attacks in the city centre of Kirkuk. Operations conducted by the Kirkuk security forces ensure security in the city but could not remove ISIS from the area around Kirkuk. Following these developments, the series of operations against ISIS, which had been spoken for a while, started. Thereupon, police, Iraqi security forces and peshmarga forces carried out an operation with air support of coalition powers to the villages around the North and South of Kirkuk on March 9 around 5 AM. Bombs were heard from the Kirkuk city center during the operation. Operations continued until later in the day and as results of operations, Tel El Verd, Tel Merii and Nehrevan villages were seized. With this operation, a power plant in Molla Abdulla was seized also. So that an area of 20 km was rescued from ISIS. Operations are ongoing in surrounding villages and towns in Kirkuk.

It is possible to observe further increase in Kurdish nationalism in Kirkuk with peshmarga forces came to the city after the attacks in June. This is reflected both the rhetoric of Kurds living in the city and daily life. Now in Kirkuk and surrounding area, there are many streets, buildings, cars and shops that Kurdish flags hanged on. In the previous checkpoint before entering the city of Kirkuk, a photo of Talabani welcomes you. Inn our discussions with the Kurdish Provincial Council members prior to the meeting held at Kirkuk Governorate, they have expressed that Kirkuk is a Kurdish city with its structure and history rather than mentioning more common discourses. Even though there are some people who are more moderate among the Kurds, you can see that the number of separatists is cannot be underestimated.

Recently, a large Kurdish flag hanging from Kirkuk Castle led to tensions in the city. Immediately after placement of the Kurdish flag to the Castle, two youth Turkmens hung the Turkmen flag to the Castle. The youths were arrested by Kirkuk forces after they hung the flag. As a result of Turkmen authorities’ intervention, the young Turkmens had released and a larger Turkmen flag was hung to the Castle.

Although the Kurdish nationalism begun to increase, the Turkmen further accentuating their presence in Kirkuk and fight on this issue with each passing day more and more. More number of Turkmen families sends their children to Turkmen schools; and studies about the Turkmen schools are improving day by day also. It is possible to see many people wearing Turkmen outfits in the streets. Likewise increasing number of Turkmen flags in many places can be observed. Turkmens protect their culture, language and identity and cultivate their efforts in this direction. It can be said that Turkmen and Kurds are ahead in the struggle for existence in the city, whereas Sunni Arabs pulled back a little more after the ISIS attacks began in the country.

Another tension in Kirkuk took place last week on March 10, Turkmen National Clothing Day. Turkmens living in the city wore their national clothes and organized a ceremony to celebrate their National Clothing Day. However a group that claimed to be the PKK supporters, act disrespectfully to the Turkmen flag in Kirkuk Technical Institute and Turkmen students and then caused tension. The same group went to the Iraqi Turkmen Front’s Province Organization building in Kirkuk and tried to remove the Turkmen flag. The Turkmen guards on duty in the building prevented the group to do anything and dispersed them. However this time, the same group burned the Turkmen flag which was hung on the Kirkuk Castle. These two events led to the reacceleration of the tension in the city. State officials came together and discussed the situation in order to prevent the tension between two parties. Hereupon, Necmettin Kerim, the governor of Kirkuk, took down the Kurdish flag on the castle as well. After these developments in the city, the ceremony of wearing traditional Turkmen jacket, zubun, led by Hasan Bayraktar, a teacher from the Turkmen school, scheduled for 12 March could not be performed and has been postponed to another date.

It seems that experienced occasional tensions between the two groups in Kirkuk would continue for a long time; because each group claims Kirkuk as theirs and expects other groups to accept it. Such an approach is disturbing the peace of the city and triggers these types of events. The people who are uncomfortable under the ISIS threats and attacks for months are stretched thoroughly with these developments as well. Meeting more midpoint and adopting Kirkuk nationalism seems to be one of the best solutions for everyone. So that acceptance of equality of all segments of the population and approaching in this way will allow a better way to overcome this process and the formation of better atmosphere in later times in Kirkuk.