Kurdistan Region Officials: 100,000 People Have Fled Kirkuk

Officials from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq say that nearly 100,000 Kurds have fled the oil-rich city of Kirkuk following the central government's takeover. After the independence referendum in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the central government deemed the referendum illegal and demanded control over border crossings and the city of Kirkuk. The city, with a population of one million, has long been disputed between the Kurdistan Region and the central government of Iraq. Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen make up the majority of the city's population. According to Reuters, forces affiliated with the central government took control of Kirkuk on Monday without significant resistance from the Kurdistan Region's forces. The central government forces have also taken control of Kirkuk's oil fields. Meanwhile, Nawzad Hadi, the governor of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, told reporters on Thursday that nearly 18,000 families have fled from Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu to seek refuge in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. An advisor to the governor of Erbil stated that the number of people who left the city is about 100,000. Hemen Hawrami, a senior advisor to Masoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region, tweeted that this population has fled from 'looting and ethnic repression.' He also accused the United Nations of ignoring this situation. Meanwhile, Liza Grande, the UN coordinator in Iraq, called on all parties involved to do their utmost to avoid harming civilians. On the other hand, Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, stated on Wednesday that security in Kirkuk has been established with the help of local police and the 'anti-terrorism service.' The Prime Minister asserted that 'no other armed group is allowed to remain' in Kirkuk. According to statistics from the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, the population composition of Kirkuk consists of Kurds, Shiite Turkmen, Sunni Arabs, and Christians. In another development, the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council issued an arrest warrant for Kosrat Rasul Ali, the deputy head of the Kurdistan local government, with the accusation of calling Iraqi forces occupiers. The Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Region entered Kirkuk in 2014 amid ISIS attacks that led to the retreat of central government forces and took control of the oil wells. In this context, Turkey stated that Iraqi Kurdish leaders did not heed advice and made a miscalculation. The parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have been postponed. Barzani stated that individual and unilateral decisions were the cause of the Kirkuk events. Kurdish Peshmerga forces have retreated from the cities of Sinjar and Khanqin.