LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/ KURDISTAN

[Anthea]

Who built Kirkuki and what language is its name?
By: Kurzanin

The city of Kirkuk, previously known as "Arafa", is one of the oldest cities in the world from the time of Obaid until now, people live in it.

Placement and scriptural evidence indicates that Arafa existed in the third century, and during that time the Hori and Gutt nations reside, later occupied by the Emperor of the Akadi.
At the end of the Third Third P.Z, Arafa appeared in the AKDI and Sumari texts, which reflected his collusion with the AKADI empire during the era of rulers such as Sargon and Naram-Sin.

In the era of KDPs and Sasani, it was known as "Karkha D-Bet Garmay" meaning "Khaki Garmay Castle", where Karkha from Kurdish ethnic group of Kurdish people of Kurdistan/Sasani to a Qalaband city. After the Arabic fetus, the word Karkha was a poem for Kirkuk-Kirkuk, which kept the feelings of the old castle.

Language and historical development: Arafa ← Karkha ← Kirkuk, shows the continuous residence and the permanent existence of the people of the mountain areas. While the city has gone through many empires, the inhabitants of Obaid, Hori, Guti and later the Kurdish generations, their role as a main place of Zagroz civilization and Kurdish originality.

[Anthea]

Kirkuk's Hawar Theater Brings Story of
Kurdish Genocide to International Stage

Erbil (Kurdistan 24) – The Hawar Theater Group from Kirkuk represented the Kurdistan Region at the Amman International Theater Festival with the monodrama “Salma,” delivering a performance centered on the tragedies of Halabja, the Kurdish genocide, the Anfal campaign, and the forced displacement of Kurdish communities

The festival, which opened on November 24 and runs for seven days, features productions from 18 countries. “Salma” is the only entry from the Kurdistan Region. Directed by Nezhad Najm, the play draws deeply from the collective memory of Kurdish suffering and resilience.

Speaking to Kurdistan24 on Thursday, director Nezhad Najm explained that this round’s performance was staged in both Kurdish and Arabic. The monodrama featured Kurdish actor Hawar Fares alongside Amna Abdullah, an actor from Tunisia, forming a bi-national cast tailored for an international Arab audience.

“We delivered the performance successfully and received a very warm reception from the organizers,” Najm said, expressing hope for winning an award at this year’s festival.

Najm emphasized that the monodrama has already been performed in 15 countries and is a joint artistic project between Kurdistan and France. Its narrative focuses on the Halabja chemical attack, the Kurdish genocide, the Anfal campaign, and the mass displacement of Kurdish people. Although the play was originally prepared in Kurdish and English, this edition was adapted into Kurdish and Arabic to suit the festival’s host country.

“Salma” was written by Dilshad Mustafa, with scenography and direction by Nezhad Najm. The production has been staged in 16 countries and has earned multiple international awards throughout its artistic journey.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/87 ... onal-stage

[Anthea]

Kirkuk Census Irregularities

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The General Board of the Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region's Administration issued a grave warning on Saturday regarding the integrity of the recently announced Iraqi general census results, accusing the federal government of reneging on critical agreements intended to protect the demographic identity of Kirkuk and other disputed territories

In a strongly worded statement released on Saturday, the Board declared that the failure to adhere to the 1957 census as a baseline for determining the legitimate population of these areas constitutes a direct violation of Article 140 of the constitution and poses a serious danger to the Kurdistani identity of the region.

The controversy stems from the official announcement of the general census results by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. While the census was intended to be a developmental tool, it has reignited deep-seated political tensions regarding the demographic makeup of the disputed territories.

The General Board's statement highlighted that a specific, joint decision had been reached between the Federal Iraqi Government’s Ministry of Planning and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) prior to the count.

This agreement explicitly stipulated that for Kirkuk and other Kurdistani areas outside the KRG's administration, the 1957 census would serve as the sole legitimate basis for registration, ensuring that demographic engineering campaigns from previous eras would not be legitimized by the new data

To operationalize this agreement, the Iraqi Council of Ministers had taken a decisive step during its regular meeting on Nov. 5, 2024. The Council mandated that before any results were announced, the files of citizens who had relocated from central and southern Iraq to Kirkuk—demographics often referred to as "imported" populations or settlers (Arab Thieves)—must be segregated and returned to their original provinces of registration.

This measure was designed to ensure that those who are not part of the indigenous population recorded in 1957 would not be counted as permanent residents of Kirkuk, thereby preserving the historical demographic balance of the province.

However, the General Board expressed profound disappointment and alarm in its Saturday statement, asserting that there is "no kind of commitment to this decision" visible in the actions of the federal authorities.

The Board views this lack of compliance not merely as a procedural oversight, but as a deliberate and "serious danger" to the future of the disputed territories.

By failing to filter the census data as agreed, the federal government is accused of acting contrary to the general principles of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which outlines the roadmap for normalizing the status of Kirkuk and other disputed areas.

The Board noted that this "dangerous development" has unfortunately vindicated their previous concerns regarding the potential politicization of the census process.

In a direct challenge to the federal authorities, the General Board issued an ultimatum.

The statement announced that unless a "necessary and convincing clarification" is provided by Baghdad to the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding these violations, the existing constitutional conflicts will be transferred to a "more difficult stage."

This language suggests a potential freeze in cooperation or a significant hardening of the KRG's stance in future negotiations with Baghdad.

The Board made it unequivocally clear that any attempt to tamper with or forcibly change the identity and demography of Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Sinjar, and other Kurdistani areas is "in no way acceptable" and will be met with staunch resistance.

Concluding its statement, the General Board appealed for internal unity within the Kurdistan Region. It emphasized that the threat to the disputed territories transcends local political rivalries.

The Board called upon the KRG and all Kurdish political parties to set aside their internal conflicts and treat this situation with the utmost seriousness.

The statement stressed that the collective priority must be the protection of the Kurdistani identity of Kirkuk and all territories defined under Article 140, framing the issue as an existential struggle for the integrity of the Kurdish homeland.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/87 ... al-dispute

[Anthea]

Iraqi army blocks farmers
harvesting in Kirkuk village

Kurdish farmers said Iraqi soldiers entered a village in Kirkuk’s Pirde (Altun Kupri) on Saturday night and prevented them from harvesting their crops as long-running disputes over land ownership in the disputed province continue

We have title deeds for seven generations
back, but they won't let us harvest

“Initially, the army allowed us to harvest. When the harvester went to our lands and started harvesting, they came and didn't allow us to continue,” said Fazil Othman, another farmer from the village.

According to the farmers, someone from Mosul came claiming to hold a deed for land in the village. "We have been cultivating this land for several years. The army is supporting the Arab man, while this area has no Arabs in it," a farmer said.

"They dream of bringing outsiders onto our land. Unless they go over our dead bodies, they won't cultivate our lands,” another farmer said angrily.

Two farmers were attacked by soldiers

For more than a month, the Iraqi army has been preventing Kurdish farmers in the area from harvesting their wheat, citing a Baath-era title deed held by an Arab settler for 1,400 dunams of land.

In January, Iraq’s parliament passed a land restitution law to return property confiscated from Kurds and Turkmen during the Baath era. The legislation covers approximately 300,000 dunams - around 750 square kilometers, based on Iraq’s definition of a dunam as 2,500 square meters - in Kirkuk and other disputed areas. This followed a July 2023 federal government decision to revoke Baath-era decrees.

The bill has reportedly been sent to the Iraqi Council of State for endorsement. After approval, it will go to the Council of Ministers for final ratification.

As implementation of the restitution law stalls, Kurdish farmers in disputed areas are also raising concerns over violations by the Kirkuk agriculture directorate.

“The Kirkuk agriculture directorate is still renewing contracts for Arab thieves,” Sheikh Najat Talabani, a representative of farmers in Daquq district, told Rudaw in mid-November

Land disputes between Arab settlers and Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk date back to Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime.

In 1975, several Kurdish villages were declared prohibited oil zones, and residents were stripped of their land rights. By 1977, the Baath Supreme Revolutionary Court redistributed those lands to Arab settlers.

After the regime’s fall in 2003, Iraq adopted Article 140 of the constitution to reverse such demographic manipulations. However, implementation of the constitution and laws aimed at reversing Baath-era policies has stalled and farmers are losing one season after another

Hardi Mohammed contributed to this report from Gurzayy village in Kirkuk.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/061220254

[Anthea]

Tensions continue in Kirkuk

Kurdish farmers in a town north of Kirkuk province said Sunday that they are being told to sign a pledge they suspect could undermine their land ownership, in exchange for being allowed to complete their current harvest. Earlier in the day, Iraqi army forces had prevented these farmers from working on their fields in Pirde

“We are not ready to sign any pledge. We will not sign it. Signing such a pledge would mean giving up ownership of this land,” Ibrahim, one of the farmers, told Rudaw, noting that they possess land deeds proving their ownership.

Farmers also told Rudaw that Iraqi army soldiers remain stationed in the area, continuing to block them from harvesting their cornfields.

Late Saturday night, Iraqi security forces entered Pirde, forcing Kurdish farmers to halt their harvest after an Arab man from Iraq’s northern Nineveh province claimed ownership of the plot based on a Ba’ath-era deed.

Abdulmutalib Najmaddin, director of the Pirde subdistrict, told Rudaw on Sunday that although a preliminary court decision had been issued in the man’s case, the ruling was later overturned and the rightful owners “were allowed to harvest their crops again.” He stressed that “this issue must be resolved.”

Meanwhile, two Kurdish farmers told Rudaw that they were physically assaulted by the Iraqi officers.

Land disputes between Arab settlers and Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk and other disputed areas date back to Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime. In 1975, several Kurdish villages were declared prohibited oil zones, and residents were stripped of their land rights. By 1977, the Baath Supreme Revolutionary Court redistributed those lands to Arab settlers.

After the regime’s fall in 2003, Iraq adopted Article 140 of the constitution to reverse such demographic manipulations. However, implementation of the constitution and laws aimed at reversing Baath-era policies has stalled and farmers are losing one season after another.

In January, Iraq’s parliament passed a land restitution law to return property confiscated from Kurds and Turkmen during the Baath era. The legislation covers approximately 300,000 dunams - around 750 square kilometers, based on Iraq’s definition of a dunam as 2,500 square meters - in Kirkuk and other disputed areas. This followed a July 2023 federal government decision to revoke Baath-era decrees.

The bill has reportedly been sent to the Iraqi Council of State for endorsement before moving to the Council of Ministers for final approval.

However, as the full implementation of the Iraqi constitution and laws aimed at reversing Baath-era policies stalls, farmers continue to lose one cultivation season after another.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/071220251

[Anthea]

Three arrested over killing
of police officer in Kirkuk

A senior police officer was shot dead on Friday outside his home in Kirkuk after gunmen opened fire on him from a vehicle, Iraq’s interior ministry announced, saying the killing was carried out by two fellow officers over personal disputes

The interior ministry said its investigation revealed that “two police officers of Kirkuk province” who were “colleagues of the deceased” killed Colonel Ziad Jarjis over “personal differences, and then escaped.”

Colonel Ziad, a Christian, was previously the director of the Arafah Police Station. He was married and had three children.

“The two suspects had previously been convicted of a joint forgery case with the colonel, were released on the latest amnesty,” the ministry said.

The ministry added that among the suspects, “one of them was found to have committed suicide,” and “a second person who confessed to committing murder was arrested.” A suspect was also arrested who was present at “the hour” when the killing took place.

A Kirkuk police source, speaking to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, said that three individuals inside an Opel vehicle opened fire on Ziad, with four bullets hitting him - one in the neck and three in the chest.

“With great sadness and sorrow, we received the news of the martyrdom of Colonel Zaid Adel Subaih Jarjis, who is from the Christian component and was assassinated in a criminal incident in front of his home,” Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha said in a statement, offering condolences to the family.

“We call upon the Kirkuk Police Command to reveal the details of this crime and arrest the accused, so that he may be handed over to a fair court and receive the legal punishment for his action,” he added.

Christian lawmakers James Hassado and Ramy Noori Syawish from the Kurdistan Region’s parliament also expressed condolences to the victim’s family, emphasizing that “it is necessary for the local authorities to guarantee the security and safety of Christians in Kirkuk.”

“We firmly expect swift and effective legal procedures…so that this crime does not pass without appropriate punishment,” they said.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/191220251