Kirkuk is confused: the death toll is rising

In the events following protests in Kirkuk, Iraq, organized by a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) supporter group demanding the opening of the Erbil-Kirkuk highway, which was closed by opponents of handing over the building controlled by the army a As reported by the KDP, the number of dead rose to 4 and the number of wounded to 15.

Photo by: AA

Kirkuk Police Department press officer Amir Nuri said in his statement that the death toll has risen to 4, with one person killed and taken to hospital with serious injuries during the protests, and 15 people injured. injuries in the incidents.

Nuri also stated that the slightly injured have begun to be discharged from hospital.

A CURRENT BAN HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED

Peshmerga forces affiliated with the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) began deploying to bases evacuated by the Iraqi army in Kirkuk following the rise of the ISIS terrorist organization in 2014, taking de facto control of the city for 3 years.

After the so-called “independence referendum” and the annexation attempt of the KRG on September 25, 2017, forces affiliated with the central government entered Kirkuk on October 16, 2017, ending the peshmerga presence in the city.

The Iraqi army evacuated the KDP building and turned it into the Kirkuk Operations Command headquarters.
Activists blocked the Erbil-Kirkuk highway as part of protests that began on August 25 against claims that preparations were being made to evacuate the building on the orders of Prime Minister Mohammed Shiya es-Sudani and hand it over to the KDP.

People gathered in the Rahimava region, where Kurds live intensely, also organized a counter-demonstration.
A curfew was imposed in the city when the protesters, arguing that the building used by the army should be handed over to the PDK, approached the area of ​​action in front of the headquarters and events escalated.

Yesterday it was announced that 3 people were killed and 9 injured. (AA)