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Kurdistan's Peshmerga forces control
Kirkuk completely after Iraqi army withdrawal
12.6.2014
update 3 - Ekurd.net
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Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The Kurds are seeking to
integrate Kirkuk province into the semi-autonomous
Kurdistan Region clamming it to be historically a
Kurdish city, it lies just south border of the
Kurdistan autonomous region, Kurds have a
strong cultural and emotional attachment to Kirkuk,
which they call "the Kurdish Jerusalem." Kurds see
it as the rightful and perfect capital of an
autonomous Kurdistan state.
Photo: Reuters
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June 12, 2014
KIRKUK, Iraq's border with Kurdistan region,—
Kurdish military spokesman said on Thursday that the
Kurdish forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region have controlled completely on the
disputed city of Kirkuk after the Iraqi federal army
withdraw from there.
The oil-rich province of Kirkuk is one of the most disputed areas by the
Kurdistan regional government and the Iraqi government in Baghdad.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Peshmerga
(Kurdistan military forces), Jabbar Yawar said
in a statement that "The whole of Kirkuk has fallen
into the hands of Peshmerga," said Jabbar Yawar. "No
Iraqi army remains in Kirkuk now."
Jabar Yawar says Kurdish forces took "full control"
of the city Thursday morning because they could not
risk leaving the city's Kurdish residents, who
comprise majority of the city's population -- and
the oil fields -- to the mercy of the radical
Islamic militants.
Kurds have started this move after Iraqi soldiers
withdraw from their positions in Mosul city, several
other towns and cities after the attack by the
Islamic-jihadists from the Islamic State in Iraq and
Sham ISIS linked to al-Qaeda organization.
Kurds have long dreamed of taking Kirkuk, a city
with huge oil reserves just outside their autonomous
region, which they regard as their historical
capital.
The Kurdish capture of Kirkuk instantly overturns
the fragile balance of power that has held Iraq
together as a state since Saddam's fall.
Iraq's Kurds have done well since 2003, running
their own affairs while being given a fixed
percentage of the country's overall oil revenue. But
with full control of Kirkuk - and the vast oil
deposits beneath it - they could earn more on their
own, eliminating the incentive to remain part of a
failing Iraq.
Jabar Yawar told Kurdpress that more than 200,000
forces from the Iraqi army have fled northern cities
of Mosul and Kirkuk after attacks on the cities by
the ISIS.
The ISIS said in a statement that it is now
progressing towards the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
The Ministry of Peshmerga said on Wednesday in a
statement that it did not enter any battles with
ISIS jihadists until now.
The Sunni Islamist militants have controlled fully
Wednesday Mosul city near Kurdistan Region and also
marched towards Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces.
These rapid developments prompted the Ministry of
Peshmerga to send military reinforcements to the
disputed areas between Baghdad and Kurdistan region
in Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahuddin provinces
and fill the void left by the withdrawal of Iraqi
forces.
Trained and equipped Peshmerga forces have been
highlighted after wide security collapse in large
parts of Iraq and the withdrawal of Iraqi soldiers,
leaving behind their weapons without resistance.
It seems that Kurdish Peshmerga forces will be
relied on to regain control of Mosul.
The Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoshyar
Zębari said Saturday that Baghdad will cooperate
with the Kurdish forces to expel militants from
Mosul.
Zebari said on the sidelines of a meeting of the
European Union and the Arab League in Athens, that
there will be closer cooperation between Baghdad and
Kurdistan Regional Government to expel foreign
fighters.
While a source in the Kurdish security forces,
(Asayish) in Kirkuk province said on Thursday, that
the Minister of Peshmerga Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh
Mustafa has survived an assassination attempt when a
roadside bomb targeted his motorcade and killed one
of his bodyguards south-west of the province.
The source said that “an explosive device planted on
the side of a road in the limits between Peshmerga
forces and elements of ISIS in Riyadh region,
southwest of Kirkuk explodedwww.Ekurd.net
before noon Thursday at the passing parade of
Sheikh Mustafa, killing one of the elements of
protection, while the first did not get hurt, noting
that Sheikh Mustafa was in a tour to inspect the
combat elements of Peshmerga.
The source added that a bomb placed on the side of a
road near Dibs area northwest of Kirkuk exploded at
a car carrying the commander of the II regiment,
Nader Abdullah and his son, which led to the injury
of the first wounded and the death of the second.
The million-strong Iraqi army, trained by the United
States at a cost of nearly $25 billion, suffers from
low morale. Its effectiveness is hurt by the view in
Sunni areas that it represents the hostile interests
of the Shi'ite-led government.
In Washington, an Obama administration official said
the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
had in the past sought U.S. air strikes against ISIS
positions. The White House suggested such strikes
were not being considered and said Washington's main
focus now is on building up government forces.
The Kurds are seeking to integrate
Kirkuk province into the semi-autonomous
Kurdistan Region clamming it to be historically a Kurdish city, it lies just
south border of the Kurdistan autonomous region, the population is a mix of
majority Kurds and minority of Arabs, Christians and Turkmen, lies 250 km
northeast of Baghdad.
Kurds have a strong cultural and emotional
attachment to Kirkuk, which they call "the Kurdish
Jerusalem." Kurds see it as the rightful and
perfect capital of an autonomous Kurdistan state.
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution is related to
the normalization of the situation in Kirkuk city
and other disputed areas through having back its
Kurdish inhabitants and repatriating the Arabs
relocated in the city during the former regime’s
time to their original provinces in central and
southern Iraq.
The article also calls for conducting a census to be
followed by a referendum to let the inhabitants
decide whether they would like Kirkuk to be annexed
to the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region or having
it as an independent province.
The former regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
had forced over 250,000 Kurdish residents to give up
their homes to Arabs in the 1970s, to Arabize the
city and the region's oil industry.
The last ethnic-breakdown census in Iraq was
conducted in 1957, well before Saddam began his
program to move Arabs to Kirkuk. That count showed
178,000 Kurds, 48,000 Turkomen, 43,000 Arabs and
10,000 Assyrian-Chaldean Christians living in the
city.
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Sources: Ekurd.net | shafaaq.com | Reuters |
rudaw.net | kurdpress.ir | Agencies
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