Iraqi Kurdistan: between jubilation and despair

CAIRO – 19 October 2017: The situation in Iraqi Kurdistan resembles that of a swinging pendulum between jubilation and despair.

As hour builds upon hour, the reality on the ground is unrecognizable from that of the previous, as loyalties appear to shift and military tactics change. In an unanticipated move, Hashd al-Shaabi forces have been withdrawn from a number of towns which had been taken during the Peshmerga’s retreat in the previous days.

Owing to the ease at which the Iraqi and Hashd al-Shaabi forces advanced into the disputed territories, it was expected that a Pavel-Amri deal had conceded these territories to Iraq in order to gain concessions currently unknown to locals and observers.

Regardless, high levels of violence, theft and sectarian actions have led to major population movements as Kirkuk’s residents fled the city. Photos of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hang in government buildings, while militiamen roamed the streets looting houses and robbing civilians. A source close to Egypt Today spoke of how militiamen robbed civilians under the premise of conducting investigations to disarm residents; describing his living situation as “terror and agony” with nowhere to turn.

This story has been replicated in many disputed areas which fell under the control and authority of Hashd al-Shaabi’s militiamen since Monday.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi requested on Wednesday that all armed forces, except for the Iraqi army, retreat from the urban areas they had occupied. As tensions escalated between militiamen and residents, it is believed the withdrawal was requested to ease tensions and help improve the perception of the Iraqi and Hashd al-Shaabi forces.

Reports, although conflicting, depicted local uprisings in many of the towns occupied by the militiamen in a struggle to retake control of their own neighborhoods from what was perceived by many as an occupation by foreign forces. Reports of sectarian abuse and Iranian flags generated fear in the local population which allegedly boiled up into a revolt.

It has been reported that Hashd al-Shaabi units were withdrawn from all disputed areas including Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Sinjar, and Jalawla; many of these areas have now been re-occupied by Peshmerga fighters to reestablish harmony in the once-peaceful towns.


Members of the Kurdish peshmerga forces gather in the town of Sinjar, Iraq November 13, 2015. REUTERS/Ari Jalal


“We feel safer since they’ve left,” a source and friend of Egypt Today in Kirkuk said today as a sense of order began to prevail over urban areas again. This is not to say that the known peace of the past weeks is reinstating itself over the citizens of Kirkuk again; however there is an air of optimism as people anticipate another chaning of the guard in and around the city.

Not all people are united in their elation of the current situation, though.

The Peshmerga were deployed to areas close to Kirkuk in the early hours of Thursday morning, and many people believe that there will be an operation to retake the city. It is difficult to confirm this however, with many reports conflicting. President Barzani claimed that many Peshmerga withdrew from Kirkuk previously in order to avoid bloodshed, yet an operation to retake the city would contradict this.

Control of Kirkuk is vital to the Kurdish aspiration of statehood in northern Iraq. A landlocked country, surrounded by adversaries from all sides, would find itself unable to function economically without access to the easy revenues oil and gas rents provide.

It is apparent that much of what has, and will take place in the disputed territories is a result of backdoor negotiations and conspiracies between certain militia and government factions. Secret channels of direct communication are being used to coordinate movements; highlighting the desire by both sides not to cause any more bloodshed and loss of life in a country which has seen more than its fair share.

Update 4:30 -

Sources confirm with Egypt Today that in fact Hashd al-Shaabi militiamen have not retreated from the disputed territories.

Reports have emerged recently identifying conflict in the town of Khanaqin, where Hashd al-Shaabi and the Iraqi army have shot protesters, killing one and leaving several injured.

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Joseph Colonna