LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/ KURDISTAN

[Anthea]

Protests mount over new Kirkuk governor

Kurdish and Arab parties on Saturday protested the appointment of Rebwar Taha as governor of Kirkuk and called for a new agreement on the formation of the local government that would satisfy all parties

Khalida Khalil, spokesperson for the Barzani Headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said that the governor of Kirkuk should be a “moderate” Kurd who is approved by all the Kurdish parties, and that the posts of the provincial council chief and deputy must also satisfy all the components of Kirkuk.

“Our protest is against the violation of the national agreement and the implementation of a strange agenda that aims to create problems and imbalances… Agreements that are made in a misleading manner are doomed to fail sooner or later,” Khalil wrote in a statement on X.

Taha, a Kurdish politician from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), took the oath of office on Wednesday, a day after receiving the presidential decree from Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid approving his appointment as governor.

He is not, however, a unanimous pick. Council members from the Turkmen Front, the KDP, and the Arab Alliance did not attend the session when Taha was nominated and declared that the meeting was illegal. The Arab and Turkmen parties announced they will challenge in court the decisions that came out of the disputed council meeting.

Taha is a Kurd, but does not have the backing of the KDP. The PUK has five seats on the council and the KDP has two. Following the vote in December, the KDP repeatedly called for the appointment of a Kurdish governor with no strong affiliation to any party and said the new administration must be formed on the basis of a national consensus.

“We will never compromise on the Kurdishness of Kirkuk, because Kirkuk is the heart of Kurdistan, just as we will never compromise on the Kurdishness of other Kurdish areas outside the Kurdistan Region’s administration,” Khalil said

A few days before her statement, Qais al-Khazali, a senior member of the Fatih Coalition and leader of the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said in an interview with local media that the PUK “acknowledged the Arabness of Kirkuk” during their discussions leading up to last week’s council meeting.

Kirkuk’s former acting Governor Rakan al-Jabouri, leader of the Arab Alliance, on Saturday denied reports that suggested he would be joining the alliance with the PUK and replace Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh as provincial council chief.

“What is being circulated in the media about the provincial council chief position has no basis, even in secret. Everyone knows that we refuse to participate in any agreement unless we formulate it from the beginning,” said Jabouri.

Hafidh, a member of the Sunni Arab Sovereignty party, was appointed as Kirkuk provincial council chief during last week’s meeting. His party subsequently announced that Hafidh was removed from their ranks after he participated in the disputed meeting.

Jabouri, who served as Kirkuk’s acting governor from October 2017 up until Taha’s appointment, claimed that the Arab population of Kirkuk does not understand the magnitude of the impact the current administration will have on them.

He asserted that the PUK can now shut down any proposals from the Arab council members, including the three who sided with them in last week’s session, since the party has five members in the alliance and the backing of Injeel al-Barwari, winner of the Christian quota, and will outnumber the Arab members by an absolute majority.

The Turkmen Front has also denied reports they would be joining the PUK's alliance and have said that they will wait for a ruling from the court.

Parwin Fatih, a PUK member of the council, denied the possibility of a new agreement.

“Everything is over and there will be no agreements, and anything said in that regard has no basis,” Fatih told Rudaw.

The formation of Kirkuk’s provincial government took more than seven months, hindered by the absence of a clear majority after the December polls and disputes between the parties.

Because of Kirkuk’s status as a multi-ethnic, disputed province with a history of demographic change, the provincial council election law dictates that “power shall be distributed in a fair representation which guarantees the participation of the province’s components regardless of the results of the elections.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/170820243

Arabness of Kirkuk - I live in the UK, if someone steals my home they are arrested NOT given the right to remain in the property - Arabs should be arrested because they are THIEVES

[Anthea]

Efforts to tackle mounting trash

One of the first issues that Kirkuk’s new provincial government has focused on is clearing the city’s accumulated waste, with the mayor citing a lack of funds as the root of the problem

“In Kirkuk, there are 1,200 tons of garbage and trash. One thousand tons are collected and 200 of it remains,” Kirkuk Mayor Ahmad Omar told Rudaw on Friday.

Omar explained that the problem has persisted for years due to inadequate funding. He said the matter had been raised with the governor, but “sufficient funds were not allocated.”

Starting Saturday, the mayor said they would ramp up efforts to clean the city.

Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha met with officials and two contracted companies, which combined have 560 workers. The companies have been given two weeks to clear the waste and clean the city, with the warning that they will lose their contracts if they fail to complete the job.

There have been plans to establish a recycling factory in the Kirkuk, but they have never been implemented.

“We need the support and assistance of the governorate and its offices… Ultimately, the main issue is the lack of necessary funds,” Omar said.

Kirkuk’s accumulation of waste and improper disposal have posed health and environmental risks, drawing widespread concern. Waste management is a problem across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/160820242

[Anthea]

Disputed provincial council session

The Kirkuk governorship and other posts that Kurds secured after agreements made in last week’s disputed provincial council session will be exchanged in two years with the positions the other components received, the spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said on Tuesday.

“There are two columns: In one column, the PUK picks the governor and the posts that come with it for two years. In the other, the Arabs pick the provincial council chief and the posts that come with it for two years. After two years, all the posts will be exchanged,” PUK spokesperson Saadi Ahmed Pira told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Tuesday.

The deadlock over forming Kirkuk’s local administration was brought to an end in a controversial manner on August 10, after the PUK and four provincial councilors allied with the party held a previously-unannounced meeting in Baghdad and appointed Rebwar Taha as the governor and Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh, a Sunni Arab politician, as the provincial council chief.

No council members from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Turkmen Front, or the Arab Alliance were present during the meeting, and the parties have deemed the session to be in violation of the law

The KDP has indirectly accused the PUK of compromising the “Kurdishness” of Kirkuk over the agreements the party has made to secure the governorship post.

“Those rumors are meaningless. They are baseless,” Pira said in response to reports claiming that the PUK has relinquished several major posts in Kirkuk in return for the governorship.

Following the vote in December, the KDP repeatedly called for the appointment of a Kurdish governor with no strong affiliation to any party and said the new administration must be formed on the basis of a national consensus

Pira said that the PUK welcomes any initiative from any party to hold the next provincial council session, adding that the party is ready to reach an agreement with the KDP in Kirkuk, and has already made efforts towards that end.

The formation of Kirkuk’s provincial government took more than seven months and was hindered by the absence of a clear majority between the parties after the elections and disputes.

It is unclear when the council will convene next.

The Arab Alliance and the Turkmen Front have filed complaints to the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court against the decisions that came out of the disputed council meeting, and have denied reports suggesting they would be joining the alliance of the council members that attended the session.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/21082024

[Anthea]

Boycotting parties should join council

Kirkuk’s new governor on Wednesday called on dissenting council members to end their boycott of the provincial administration as Turkmens and some Kurds and Arabs continue their protest of the governor’s controversial nomination

“The council has sent official letters to them to take part in meetings,” Governor Rebwar Taha said during a news conference in the city on Wednesday.

A months-long deadlock over forming Kirkuk’s provincial administration was brought to an end in a controversial manner on August 10, when the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) five members and four provincial councilors allied with the party held an unannounced meeting in Baghdad and appointed Taha as governor and Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh, a Sunni Arab politician, as provincial council chief. Both have officially assumed those positions.

No council members from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Turkmen Front, or the Arab Alliance were present during the meeting in Baghdad. These parties declared that council session illegal and have boycotted subsequent provincial council meetings.

Taha, a Kurd and member of the PUK, said that posts dedicated for the boycotting parties will not be filled by others. “The positions will remain vacant until candidates are submitted, but we continue our work,” he said.

Among the vacant positions are five assistants, a deputy, and seven advisors of the governor.

“We want to be together in the local government,” Taha said, adding that they want to serve the province fairly and bring about “true coexistence.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/280820241

[Anthea]

Exclusion of Kirkuk land restitution bill

Kurdish parties in the Iraqi parliament unanimously boycotted a session on Wednesday in protest over the exclusion from the agenda of a bill that would return land confiscated under the Baath regime to the original Kurdish and Turkmen owners

“We… announce our displeasure and severe criticism of the position of some blocs and political forces within the legislature,” read a joint statement issued by the Kurdish parties who are unhappy that these blocs were not advancing a bill that seeks to “do justice to those who were harmed and suffered under the policies of repression and displacement” during the Baathist era.

“The Kurdish factions objected. We will not participate in the parliamentary assembly until the draft law is added to the agenda and put to a vote,” Jamal Kochar, member of the Iraqi parliament from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), told Rudaw on Wednesday.

The bill has gone through its first and second readings, but has not been put on the parliament's agenda for a vote. Kochar said that both Sunni and Shiite parties opposed the bill.

Multi-ethnic regions known as the disputed areas, particularly the oil-rich Kirkuk province, have long been a point of contention between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government. In the 1970s, Kurdish and Turkmen lands were seized by the Baath regime under the pretext they were located in prohibited oil zones and the land was given to Arabs who were resettled into the area.

Following the fall of the Baath regime in 2003, Iraq began a policy of de-Arabization under Article 140 of the constitution, aiming to reverse the demographic changes imposed by former dictator Saddam Hussein

In July 2023, the Council of Ministers unanimously approved a draft law revoking all Baath-era rulings that had confiscated agricultural lands from Kurds and Turkmen in Kirkuk.

However, restoring the land to its original owners requires the passage of an additional bill in parliament.

Disputes over land ownership in the province continue. Kurds and Turkmens say the Iraqi army has requested that they vacate lands to make way for military bases. The farmers staged weeks of protests last summer. In late July this year, Kurdish farmers complained that the Iraqi government was still pursuing the matter, taking over their land and setting up fences to expand a military base.

There are also fears that the previous provincial administration in Kirkuk sought to revive the Baathist-era policy of Arabization. In April, Fahmi Burhan, head of the Kurdistan Region’s board for disputed territories, stated that over 92,000 Arabs had been relocated to Kirkuk since 2017 and urged Kurdish political leaders to stop the “new Arabization.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/040920241

[Anthea]

Arabs excluded from land distribution

Hundreds of pieces of land will be distributed to Kirkuk University’s administrative and academic staff, excluding Arab settlers, announced the governor on Saturday

“600 pieces of land will be distributed to Kirkuk University’s lecturers and employees,” Rebwar Taha told reporters, adding that the process does not include Arab residents who are not originally from the city.

Only those employees “who are identified as the people of Kirkuk as per the 1957 census” can benefit from the land distribution program, the governor elaborated

Arabs from elsewhere in Iraq were brought into the disputed areas of Kirkuk largely between 1970 and 1978. The Arabization of the province has been a historical flashpoint between Baghdad and the Kurds.

After 2003 and the fall of the Baath regime, Iraq began a policy of de-Arabization within the framework of Article 140 of the Constitution, which aims to reverse the demographic changes by Saddam Hussein during the Anfal campaign.

Arab settlers in Kirkuk recently made many attempts to confiscate land belonging to Kurdish and Turkmen farmers and the previous administration was accused of supporting the settlers.

Taha is a Kurd and assumed the position in a disputed vote last month.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/140920242

[Anthea]

Land Disputes in Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq is scheduled to hear two complaints submitted by Kurdish and Turkmen farmers from Kirkuk on Sunday, addressing land ownership disputes dating back to the Baath regime era

The first case, Complaint No. 140 of 2023, involves six Kurdish citizens contesting the constitutionality of Baath Leadership Council Decision No. 949 of 1977. This decision led to the confiscation and transfer of ownership rights of their agricultural lands to the Ministry of Finance under the guise of agrarian reform.

The plaintiffs are seeking the cancellation of this Baath-era decision and the restoration of their land ownership.

The second complaint, also postponed from July 21, was filed by four Kurdish and Turkmen farmers from the town of Daquq, south of Kirkuk.

They challenge Decision No. 824, issued on August 16, 1976, which similarly resulted in the confiscation of their lands under the pretext of agrarian reform.

These cases highlight the ongoing struggle for land rights in Kirkuk, a region with a complex history of ethnic and political tensions.

The decisions of the Federal Supreme Court in these cases could have significant implications for land ownership and restitution in the region.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/36 ... -in-Kirkuk

[Anthea]

Concerns Over Kurdish Education

The new academic year has started in the disputed (mostly stolen) Kurdish province of Kirkuk and across Iraq, but concerns persist over the marginalization of Kurdish education in Kirkuk since 2017

Kamaran Ali, the director of Kurdish education in Kirkuk, told Kurdistan 24 that 100,000 students are currently enrolled in Kurdish-language schools, including 10,000 first-year students. Ali commended the recent recruitment of 1,100 teachers and the distribution of nearly one million textbooks, accomplishments made possible through the support of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the Ministry of Education.

However, he also raised concerns about the challenges Kurdish education continues to face. "We have faced marginalization and exclusion from Kirkuk since 2017," Ali said, urging the provincial council and the newly appointed governor to address the issue.

He emphasized the importance of protecting Kurdish education in areas outside the Kurdistan Region, as outlined in Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution

Despite these obstacles, the Kurdish Education Directorate in Kirkuk oversees 555 schools and kindergartens, supported by more than 8,000 teachers and staff, all of whom are paid by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). This reflects the KRG’s commitment to preserving the Kurdish language and culture in Kirkuk, despite political and administrative challenges.

As the new academic year unfolds, the situation highlights the ongoing efforts to maintain and strengthen Kurdish education in Kirkuk and the need for continued support to ensure Kurdish students receive quality education in their native language.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/861153

[Anthea]

Delay in Kirkuk Census Until

Article 140 Implemented

The head of the Kirkuk branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has called for the postponement of the Iraqi general census process until after the implementation of Article 140. He also urged Kurdish displaced persons from Kirkuk currently living in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah to return to the city

Mohammad Kamal, the head of the KDP branch in Kirkuk, told reporters at a press conference on Monday that the situation in Kirkuk should not be rushed and that the general census should be conducted in the province, which is a disputed (stolen) area.

"We call for this process to be postponed and not rushed, because Article 140 has not been implemented," Kamal stated.

He added that if the displaced people do not return to their homes, they will lose their rights to food assistance from the oil department and all other forms of support.

The head of the KDP office in the disputed city also mentioned that, according to the procedures and guidelines for the general census, three families have the opportunity to register at one address.

Kamal used the example of Zartik village in Kirkuk to illustrate the impact of Arabization on a Kurdish-majority village

"Until 1988, when the village was destroyed, there was not a single Arab household. Now, as we approach the census, about 28 Arab households and eight Kurdish households have been registered, while more than 250 indigenous families from the village are scattered across the Kurdistan Region. Instead of them, a number of Arab families have been registered in their place, which poses a real threat to Kurds during the census," Kamal explained.

"We urge citizens to return to Kirkuk and their hometowns before October 5th, register with one of their relatives or acquaintances to avoid the curfew, and participate in the census," the KDP official pleaded with the Kurds of Kirkuk who reside outside the province.

Last week, the Kurdistan Region’s Board for Disputed Territories raised concerns about the upcoming Iraqi general census, particularly in disputed areas.

The census is scheduled for November 20, 2024, and the Board expressed apprehensions about the process and skepticism regarding the intentions of the Iraqi federal government.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/861269

[Anthea]

I posted this article here due to the sad fact that it share's the same fate as Kirkuk:

Makhmour’s Kurdish villages face desertion

amid Arabization threats

An increasing number of Kurdish villages in Erbil province’s Makhmour district are being deserted due to renewed Arabization threats and various other challenges, local residents and officials said, concerned about the alleged “rapid” rise of Arabization in the area

Makhmour district, located 60 kilometers southwest of Erbil city, is part of the disputed (stolen) territories between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government. It was previously subjected to an expansive Arabization campaign under the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and over 20 years later, locals claim that Arabization is rapidly taking shape again.

“Part of the issue stems from the fact that Makhmour lacks Kurdish representation in Iraq’s parliament. I challenge any Kurdish MP in Iraq to stand up against Arabization in Makhmour. If we, as Kurds, do not act now, the consequences could be dire,” Mohammed Kakayi, the head of the security and defense committee of the Nineveh Provincial Council, told Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi on Sunday.

Among the issues pushing Kurdish residents away from their villages are the lack of security and inadequate services.

Shakhawan Khalid, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) politburo, claimed that dozens of Kurdish villages in the area have been deserted due to Arabization and security threats.

“Unfortunately, more than 50 Kurdish villages have been deserted. Until Peshmerga forces return to the area, these villages will not be rebuilt,” he said, attributing their decline to Islamic State (ISIS) cells roaming the area.

He also criticized the lack of action by Kurdish representatives in Baghdad, stressing that the issues of the Kurdish people in Makhmour must be brought before Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court.

A local resident stated that while the Arabization process had previously been gradual, it is now accelerating rapidly. Another resident mentioned that Arabization is no longer only about confiscating farmers’ lands but has now extended to renaming Kurdish villages with Arabic names

Meanwhile, Kakayi stated that intra-Kurdish disputes between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the PUK are fueling the problem, with an unstable political climate in the Kurdistan Region intensifying Arabization in the disputed areas.

“We, alongside our KDP brothers, are standing against Arabization. If we were united, we could address this issue more effectively. Unfortunately, at times, our divisions embolden those pushing for more Arabization,” Kakayi, from the PUK, lamented.

Sirwan Makhmouri, an expert on the disputed territories, highlighted that Makhmour is a fertile region and is vital to Iraq’s food security, which makes it more attractive to Arabization.

“This year alone, 20,000 tons of wheat were harvested from Makhmour, making it one of the key contributors to Iraq’s food supply. Additionally, the Khurmala oil fields, rich in oil, are also located in this region,” he said.

Abdullah Abdulrahman, a cleric from Makhmour, also criticized the Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties for failing to push for Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which would address the status of disputed territories like Makhmour.

KDP and PUK work separately which harms our interests

Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution has been one of the most controversial topics relating to the disputed areas in the war-torn country since the drafting of the constitution in 2005, as the failure to fully implement it has been cited as one of the main reasons for the continued attempts at demographic change in these areas.

The Article calls for the disputes over territory in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salahaddin to be resolved, and includes measures aimed at rectifying Arabization policies implemented under the rule of the former Iraqi dictator.

It specifies that this process needs to be implemented by no later than the end of 2007, yet it remains to be fully applied around 16 years after that date.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/23092024

[Anthea]

Kurds fear recent demographic changes

taint Kirkuk census

A Kurdish member of Kirkuk’s provincial council is concerned that Iraq’s census is premature and could be tainted by new (property stealing) Iraqi settlers in the province, which is given special treatment under the constitution because of its multi-ethnic and disputed status

“As you know article 140 [of the constitution] has steps, resolution and then census. They are doing a census without implementing a resolution,” Hasan Majid, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc on the council, told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman

Kirkuk, along with other disputed (stolen) territories in Diyala, Nineveh, and Salahaddin, has a diverse population and was subject to Arabization policies under Saddam Hussein’s rule, where Kurdish inhabitants were displaced and their lands given to Arab settlers.

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution outlines a process for resolving disputes over these territories. It begins with compensation for Arab settlers and the return of lands to displaced Kurdish landowners

Following these steps, a census and referendum are to be held to give inhabitants the choice of joining the Kurdistan Region or remaining under Baghdad’s control. The deadline for this process was 2007, but it remains unresolved.

Kirkuk was jointly administered by Erbil and Baghdad until 2014 when Peshmerga forces took control after the Iraqi army withdrew in the face of the Islamic State (ISIS). In 2017, following the Kurdish independence referendum, Iraqi forces re-entered Kirkuk and expelled the Peshmerga

Majid said that conducting a census is necessary, but only when done in a fair way and following the constitutionally mandated steps.

There still exist disputes over Arab settlers and land ownership

Kaka Rash Siddiq, head of Kirkuk's office for implementation of Article 140, said in August that thousands of Arabs who had received financial and land compensation from the Iraqi government chose to remain in the province. He blamed the previous provincial administration, which he said supported the Arab population who stayed despite being compensated.

Rakan al-Jabouri, who had served as acting governor of Kirkuk from 2017 until last month, has faced accusations of trying to revive Baathist-era Arabization policies and weaken the Kurdish population, though others have commended him for revitalizing neglected Arab neighborhoods.

Provincial council member Majid said multiple new neighbourhoods were built in Kirkuk during Jabouri’s time in office.

“Nine Arab neighborhoods were built after October 16 [2017]. All are from outside the city and are settlers who have come to the city,” he said.

He claimed that 50,000 Arabs have newly settled in Kirkuk.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is also concerned that recent population changes could affect the census.

On Friday, Karwan Adil Kamarkhan, head of the Kirkuk office of the KRG’s board for disputed territories, stated that around 300,000 Arabs and Turkmens have settled in the province since October 2017

Kamarkhan urged Kirkukis who no longer reside in the province to return before October 5 to be counted in the first stage of the census and warned that they may otherwise not be included in the Kurdish population count for Kirkuk.

Kirkuk’s Kurdish population is expected to have significantly decreased after the Baath regime's Arabization process and the ousting of the Peshmerga in October 2017. In the 1957 census, Kurds made up 48 percent of Kirkuk's population, Arabs 28 percent, and Turkmen 21 percent. Majid argued that censuses done after 1957, during times of Arabization and conflict, were unreliable.

The first stage of Iraq's national census, which began on September 1, involves surveying buildings and counting the population along with household members. This phase is expected to be completed by October 30. The second stage, starting on October 20, will gather more detailed information from each household.

Missing the first stage means exclusion from the second phase.

The most recent population census, conducted in 1997, recorded 19 million Iraqis, with a separate count estimating the population of the Kurdish provinces at 2.8 million. Iraq’s total population is now an estimated 51 million. (Iraqis breed like the rats they are)

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/260920241

[Anthea]

Kurdistan to Begin Numbering buildings

Kurdistan (KRG) will commence the process of numbering buildings and blockading areas in the provinces of the Kurdistan starting tomorrow, 1 October

According to Sirwan Mohammed, Deputy Minister of Planning, this step marks a delay in the broader census process that began across Iraq on 1 November, 2023, but the KRG had faced setbacks due to budget constraints imposed by the federal government.

"We are one step behind Iraq in the census process because the federal government did not provide the necessary budget, equipment, and materials for the census process in the Kurdistan Region, causing delays in our work," Mohammed told Kurdistan 24.

The census teams in the Kurdistan Region will be divided into blocks for the enclosure and numbering process, with over 8,000 employees and managers overseeing the task.

Meanwhile, the KRG has expressed concerns regarding the census in disputed (STOLEN) Kurdish territories, particularly Kirkuk. Mohammed Kamal, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) third branch in Kirkuk, emphasized that the situation in Kirkuk has not been normalized, referencing the incomplete implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which outlines the resolution of territorial disputes.

“We will have a number of meetings with the Ministry of Planning and the Iraqi government in Baghdad tomorrow to resolve the KRG’s comments on the census process in the disputed areas, especially Kirkuk,” Kamal said in a press conference. He noted that the KRG's concerns have not yet been addressed, and there remains a possibility that the census in these areas may be postponed or canceled altogether.

The general census in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region and disputed areas, is scheduled for November 20, 2024. According to the Ministry of Planning, Iraq’s population is projected to reach approximately 51.5 million by the end of the year.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/862036

It is impossible to hold a census in Kirkuk due to all the Iraqi thieves

[Anthea]

Kirkuk Census Should Be Delayed

The Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, has stated that the issues facing the census process in Kirkuk will be resolved. If they are not, the census in the province should be delayed, or the 1957 census should be used as the basis. He also noted that the Iraqi Ministry of Planning has promised to open a data center in the Kurdistan Region

AGREED the 1957 census should be used, home stealing Iraqis should not take part in the census

On Tuesday, Shakhawan Abdullah acknowledged the efforts of the parliamentary planning committee in addressing the challenges surrounding the general census, particularly during a meeting that included the Iraqi Minister of Planning and a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government.

“There were several important issues for us that needed to be clarified, including the status of Kurdish areas outside the Kurdistan Regional Government. People were forcibly displaced from Kirkuk to the Kurdistan Region, while others were brought into Kirkuk and settled there. These issues required more thorough explanation,” Abdullah said.

“What is particularly important to us is that the indigenous people of Kirkuk are counted in their city. If not, there will be no general census in Kirkuk, and the 1957 census records will be used as a basis,” he added.

Abdullah also mentioned that the head of the strategic report committee pointed out that the general census does not necessarily have to be held in November this year. If the concerns and shortcomings are not addressed, it is reasonable to postpone the process.

“We have emphasized the need for a statistics and information center in the Kurdistan Region. When we amended the census law, the Iraqi Ministry of Planning promised to establish such a center in the Kurdistan Region,” he explained.

“The issue of internally displaced persons was also discussed. For example, how will people from Anbar, who fled to the Kurdistan Region due to the war on terrorism and have since settled there, be counted? We are working on establishing a mechanism to address this issue,” Abdullah noted.

The general population and housing census is scheduled for November 20, 2024, across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

The last census in 1997 recorded 19 million Iraqis, with a separate count estimating the population of the Kurdish provinces at 2.8 million. Current estimates place Iraq’s population at around 50 million. A previously planned census in 2020 was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/862130

[Anthea]

Kurds concerned about census of

new Kirkuk residents

The recent relocation of hundreds of thousands of Arabs into Kirkuk province has concerned Kurds who fear the newcomers will be registered as residents of the disputed province and could skew the results of Iraq’s November census, a Kurdish official said on Wednesday.

Sirwan Mohammed, acting head of Kurdistan Region’s census board, told Rudaw that they are opposed to the decision to consider hundreds of thousands of Arabs who have recently moved to Kirkuk as residents of the province.

“We would not have any issues if these people were counted in the areas they have come from,” he said, adding that Erbil and Baghdad should have reached an agreement on this matter before the census.

Iraq will conduct a nationwide census on November 20. Preliminary gathering of data has already begun.

Mohammed claimed that Turkmens and Christians as well as some Arabs are also concerned about this issue.

“This issue should be resolved. The Iraqi planning ministry says that counting these people in a specific province during the census does not mean that they will be permanently counted in the province,” he said, arguing that this is acceptable for all Iraqi and Kurdish provinces except for the disputed ones.

“We want them to be counted in their own areas during the census,” he stressed.

Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic province that has seen deliberate demographic changes under the Baathist regime’s policy of Arabization, designed to force Kurdish landowners out of the oil-rich province. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, successive governments have failed to fully implement steps to reverse the demographic changes and there have been new population shifts in recent years

There are also concerns that Kurdish residents who were expelled from Kirkuk in the past will not be registered in the census, but the Arab residents will be.

Regarding people who fled southern and central provinces during the war with the Islamic State (ISIS) and sought shelter in the Kurdistan Region, Mohammed said that they will be counted in the Region and that this has concerned authorities in their home provinces who want them counted in their original areas.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/021020243

[Anthea]

Roadside Blast in Kirkuk Wounds Five

A roadside bomb wounded five people in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday. One of the injured was seriously hurt and lost both legs, police sources said

The bomb targeted a commercial district in the city center. It was planted in a shop near the Azadi police station and exploded in the Mosalla neighborhood of Kirkuk, a police source told BasNews.

Kirkuk police initially reported four injuries, but the city's health department later stated, "The number of injured is five," noting that one of them was "slightly injured" by an explosive fragment and was not included in the security forces' report. Additionally, six children were slightly injured. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

"My house is close to the scene. When we heard a loud noise, we didn't know what it was. When we arrived, several people were injured. We don't know what caused it," an eyewitness said.

Earlier in the week, four Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others injured in an ambush on an army convoy southwest of Kirkuk, for which Islamic State militants claimed responsibility.

Despite the group’s defeat in 2017, remnants continue to conduct hit-and-run attacks against government forces across central and southern Iraq.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/862461