Oil-rich Kirkuk in northern Iraq is a province everyone wants. Kurdish commanders are adamant that Kirkuk is Kurdish and should be part of a future Kurdistan, the Iraqi side insists it should not, while long-marginalised communities are stuck in the middle. Many returned soon after, but more than 99, people are still displaced in the wider province — including those forced from their homes by the so-called Islamic State group or subsequent fighting.
It does not currently include the Peshmerga. He said his forces were working hard to restore security in the area, and had captured more than members of IS since he took up the role in February. Harbia said he had no problem with a four-governorate Iraqi Kurdistan, which excludes the disputed territories.
In addition to keeping Kirkuk safe, Harbia said one of his priorities was promoting good relations between the Iraqi army and civilians. While some Kurdish politicians and citizens speak openly against the power transfer, Mohamed, a year-old Kurdish translator whose father is a senior member of the Kirkuk police, said not much had changed for Kurds like him.
A more critical fault line running through its mixed Sunni-Shia community dates back to , when some Sunni Turkmen joined IS and led the persecution of their Shia neighbours. Baghdad showed its commitment to keeping Kirkuk by swiftly reclaiming the income from its oil fields, some of the largest in the Middle East.
Within days of taking the city, British oil and gas firm BP was back in talks with a state-run oil company about a stalled agreement, and they inked a new deal this year intended to more than double production. But while Kirkuk city has benefited from investment from Baghdad, residents and officials of outlying towns told TNH they continue to be overlooked, even with the change of power. Strategically located on the main Kirkuk-Erbil highway, officials in the Turkmen town of Altun Koprey called Perde by Kurds say they are still waiting for investment they were promised.
