3 protesters killed, 14 injured in Kirkuk clashes

• 3 protesters were killed and 14 injured in clashes in Kirkuk.
• The building had previously been used as an Iraqi army base.
• Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani imposed a curfew on the city.

On Saturday, in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, three protesters were fatally shot, and 14 others sustained injuries during clashes between different ethnic groups.

The unrest followed days of tension and revolved around a building in Kirkuk that formerly served as the headquarters for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) but had been used as an Iraqi army base since 2017.

The central government had intentions to return the building to the KDP as a goodwill gesture. However, Arab and Turkmen opponents had set up a protest camp outside the building in objection.

The violence erupted when a group of Kurdish protesters approached the camp on Saturday, according to the police. Initially, it was reported that one Kurdish protester had been killed, but the death toll later increased as two more Kurdish protesters succumbed to gunshot wounds while in the hospital.

Security officials and local police in Kirkuk are conducting investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding these deaths, including identifying those responsible for the gunfire.

During the clashes, individuals from both protest groups suffered injuries as confrontations included stone-throwing and the use of metal bars, as reported by Kirkuk police.

In order to stop the violence from getting worse, Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani imposed a curfew on the city and urged “political parties, social organizations, and community leaders to play their part in preventing strife and preserving security, stability, and order”.

Some of the worst post-Islamic State violence in Iraq has taken place in Kirkuk, an oil-rich province in northern Iraq that is along the dividing lines between the Kurdish autonomous region and regions under the control of the country’s Shi’ite-dominated central government.

After pushing out the Islamic State in 2014, Kurdish troops were in charge of the city until they were driven out by the Iraqi army in 2017.

Sudani has attempted to strengthen ties between his government and the KDP ever since he came to power last year. However, the KDP’s return has been opposed by minority groups and Arab citizens who claim they suffered under Kurdish control.

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