Parliament bloc wants international protection for Kirkuk’s Arabs
Deportation of Arab families in Kirkuk.
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – An alliance of Arab Sunni groups inside the Iraqi parliament has demanded to subject Arab regions in Kirkuk to international protection as accusations mount against Kurdish authorities of forced evacuation of Arab residents of the province.
In a statement on Wednesday, the so-called Alliance of National Powers accused Kurdish Peshmerga militias of burning and plundering the contents of at least 25 homes at the village of Qushqaya.
“In the midst of victories achieved by Iraqi security forces advancing towards the liberation of our soil…..we were shocked today with Peshmerga forces in western Kirkuk burning and plundering the contents of no less that 25 houses in Qushqaya, al-Dabs, whose people were forced to move to refugee camps at gunpoint,” read the statement.
It said the violations come in spite of meetings and discussions made with Kurdistan region leaderships over the matter.
“We are making our demands to the United Nations and the international community to subject Arab areas of Kirkuk to international protection, as well as to open an international investigation after shocking reports by Amnesty International, the UNHRC and IOM condemned what was committed against the Arabs of Kirkuk,” read the statement. It said the violations require to refer perpetrators to international trials.
Amnesty and Human Rights Watch had recently urged Kurdish authorities to cease the evacuation of hundreds of Arabs from Kirkuk against their will, labelling the measure as a violation of international law.
Chief of Peshmerga operations at western Kirkuk, Kamal Kirkuki, said in a press conference on Wednesday they had evidence of complicity with ISIS among the Arab residents of Qushqaya.