ياشاسين آذربايجان - Long live Azerbaijan

.

Kirkuk, an ancient city that once was part of the Ottoman Empire, is often the scene of communal tensions among Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, and the latest violence was sparked by protests over the controversial legislation for planned provincial elections. The draft is currently being reviewed by the Iraqi parliament but many Kurdish and Shiite ministers are opposed to the bill.

---

---

Dozens of angry Kurds opened fire Monday on the offices of a Turkmen political party, which opposes Kurdish claims on Kirkuk, after a suicide bombing that killed at least 22 during a protest rally in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The Kurd attackers kidnapped five Turkmen party members, the party’s Ankara representative told Anatolian Agency. (UPDATED)

At least 22 people were killed on Monday in a suicide bombing during a protest rally in Kirkuk and gunfire in the panic that followed, officials told AFP.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in downtown Kirkuk amid a group of people protesting against a provincial election law, prompting guards to fire to disperse a surging crowd, officials added.

After the explosion, some demonstrators walked to the ITF office after they staged a protest march in Kirkuk, Saadettin Ergec, the chairman of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), told the Anatolian Agency.

“They wounded some officials in the office, including the head of the security personnel, and they set ablaze vehicles,” Ergec said. He said the demonstrators later attacked the Turkmeneli TV station, and added that police did not intervene in the demonstrators.

The Kurd attackers kidnapped five Turkmen party members, ITF’s Ankara representative, Ahmet Muratlı, told the agency.

“The victims were people who ran away after the explosion, and guards opened fire, shooting into the air,” Najat Hassam, a senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was quoted by AFP as saying.

“More people then responded to the gunfire with more shooting. The result of all this was 22 people killed and 120 injured.”

Sharzad Hamed Aziz, a doctor at Azady hospital, said his facility had received 22 bodies and 120 wounded people.

Kirkuk, an ancient city that once was part of the Ottoman Empire, is often the scene of communal tensions among Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, and the latest violence was sparked by protests over the controversial legislation for planned provincial elections.

The draft is currently being reviewed by the Iraqi parliament but many Kurdish and Shiite ministers are opposed to the bill.

Kurds in particular have opposed the law because of disputes over how to constitute the provincial council of Kirkuk, the northern oil province claimed by the Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.

The question is important to them because it could affect ownership of the northern provinces oil resources, claimed by both Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.

Last week, Iraq’s 275-member parliament initially adopted the election law that would have allowed provincial polls scheduled for October to proceed but the bill was then vetoed by the three-member Presidency Council.hyrriyet

, Voice of a Nation

---

Share This | Print