Anti-Kurdish protests reported in Kirkuk

Arabs and Turkmen, who together make up the majority in the disputed oil rich city of Kirkuk, are calling for Kurdish militias and intelligence to leave.

Demonstrations are reported in the city with placards hailing “Arab-Turkmen-Kurdish fraternity” but lashing out at the presence of Kurdish militias in the city.

Conditions in Kirkuk, a major oil center, are said to be tense as the three ethnic minorities fight over control of the city and its oil riches.

The Kurds with the heavy presence of their militias and intelligence organs hold a firm hand on security issues in Kirkuk, raising complaints from other ethnic minorities.

Abdulrahman al-Asi, an Arab political leader in Kirkuk, has alleged that the Kurds were using their authority to discriminate against other minorities.

He said Kurdish authorities were removing Arabs and other minorities and replacing them with Kurds.

The demonstrations, mainly planned by Kirkuk Arabs, demanded an end to Kurdish militia rule and the deployment of Iraqi army and police instead, said Asi.

“We are demanding (the government) to oppose the evacuation of Arabs from Kirkuk and the annulment of their deeds to agricultural land,” he added.

“One of our basic demands is the deployment of Iraqi Army units and police forces in the city,” he added.

Asi blamed tensions and the latest upsurge in security on the Kurdish militias and their intelligence and “vigilante groups.”

Government troops have so far shunned entering Kirkuk, leaving its security to Kurdish militias.

Observers say the arrangement is part of a tacit deal for the Kurds to support the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

But Asi said Kirkuk would not see peace and quiet unless security was handed over to Iraqi Army and police forces.