In June 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) was on the rise across Syria and Iraq. Fresh from their victory in Mosul, which saw the jihadist organization utterly rout a much larger Iraqi Security Force (ISF) army, Daesh began gobbling up territory in rural Kirkuk province. By this point in the war, the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga were already involved in the fight against Daesh. Peshmerga is a catch-all term for Kurdish fighters in Iraq under the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) which, translated literally, means “those who confront death”. In the face of the oncoming Daesh threat, the ISF troops guarding Kirkuk began to flee. As the ISF retreated from Kirkuk, and rather than waiting to let Daesh take the city first, Peshmerga forces moved into the city.
Kirkuk is a traditionally Kurdish city situated in northern Iraq. The city is often seen as a cultural capital for both Kurdish and Turkmen populations in the region, and in 2010 was named Iraq’s cultural capital. Predominantly Turkmen until the 1930s, the city saw an influx of Kurds and Arabs in the decade following due to the discovery of oil and the exploitation of that oil by British companies. By 1957, the earliest year in which reliable census data is available, the population of the city was 48.2% Kurdish, 28.2% Arab, 21.4% Turkmen, with the remainder divided between Assyrians, Jews, and other ethnic groups. These demographics would change dramatically over the course of the 20th century.
Oil geyser in Kirkuk
The discovery of oil has altered the life of Kirkuk forever. Located on top of the second-largest oil reserves in Iraq, Kirkuk is in a perfect location to benefit substantially from its liquid wealth. Unfortunately for Kirkuk, that oil wealth may also be a curse; starting in the 1970s, in an effort to assert more control over the traditionally-rebellious Kurds, the Ba’athist government of Iraq began a process of “Arabization”, or forced eviction of Kurdish/Turkmen families to relocation camps, and replacement of said evicted families with Arab families. Many of these Arab families were Sunni, as many of the families were gifted houses in Kirkuk in returns for favors. In 1983, a Kurdish uprising began in Iraqi Kurdistan, one which culminated in the Iraqi government’s Al Anfal campaign. The campaign, which began in 1986, has subsequently been labelled a genocide. It involved the use of tanks, heavy artillery, and aircraft against civilian populations. Worse, on several occasions chemical weapons were used, to tragic effect. Entire villages were destroyed to create a buffer zone around Iraq’s mountainous northern borders with Iran and Turkey.
A memorial to those killed in the Halabja chemical attack
A failed uprising across Iraq in 1991 saw the uptick in Arabization efforts in Kirkuk, which had been one of the rebellious cities. By 1997 the population had shifted to 72% Arab, 21% Kurdish, and only 7% Turkmen. Today’s conflict in Kirkuk is between the Kurdish Peshmerga, with their capital in Erbil, and the Iraqi military, which answers to Baghdad. But, like many situations, this one is more complicated than it initially looks; the Iraqi military is divided between regular armed forces (Army, Air Force, Navy), which answer to the Ministry of Defense, and the Federal Police/Rapid Response Units, which answer to the Ministry of Interior. Further complicating things, the Iraqi military is largely supported by militias, predominantly Shia, which have affiliations varying from local organizations to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Sadr City, and even including the Ayatollah Sistani. The militias, known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd militia, are equipped with M1 Abrams tanks, armored personnel carriers of all sorts, and a mixture of Iranian and American weapons (among others).
Peshmerga tanks
The KRG wants to hold onto Kirkuk for its historic cultural, economic, and obvious oil resources. The Baghdad government wants it largely for similar reasons, with a particular emphasis on the oil and less on the culture. Neither side seems willing to back down. The situation has been greatly exacerbated by a recent Kurdish referendum on independence, which, while not binding, has had dramatic impacts on Baghdad/Erbil relations. Both sides have been armed by the United States and other coalition allies. As Iraqi/PMU forces move past Peshmerga frontlines in Kirkuk and the Peshmerga readies itself for war, there is very little that could avert war at this point. Alas, the Ayatollah Sistani, on October 14th, issued a fatwa prohibiting an attack on Kirkuk. This seems to have stalled the situation, at least as of this writing. The situation is still fluid, so check in here for updates.
