ALBAWABA - At least three people have been killed and dozens were injured as demonstrators took to the streets to protest following the government's decision to hand over the building to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
As the protests took a violent curve, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a curfew in the city of Kirkuk as well as “extensive security operations in the areas affected by the riots”, according to a statement from al-Sudani's office later on Saturday.
al-Sudani called on all parties to "play their part in preventing strife and preserving security, stability, and order in Kirkuk Governorate".
As the Iraqi government planned to hand over a building that was once the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party to the KDP, Arab and Turkmen residents of Kirkuk took to the streets to express their strong opposition to the building handover, which has been used as an Iraqi army base since 2017.
After Iraqi forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) reclaimed control of Kirkuk in October 2017 and expelled Kurdish Peshmerga and security personnel, the KDP closed its Kirkuk offices.
Iraqi soldiers took over three of the KDP's offices, including that of its leadership council, which is located on the key Kirkuk-Erbil road and is now controlled by the military's Joint Operations Command (JOC).
Former Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani accused "rioters" of obstructing the highway from Kirkuk to Erbil, the Kurdish capital, with their protests. According to him, this is "creating a tense and dangerous situation for residents."
Barzani called it "surprising" that security officers had not prevented "the chaos and illegal behavior of those blocking the road," while "violence was used against Kurdish youth and demonstrators" on Saturday.
