Shafaq News/ Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned, on Saturday, against “tampering” with Kirkuk’s demographic composition, citing reports of mass relocation of Kurds from the Kurdistan Region to the province ahead of Iraq's census.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keçeli wrote on X, "The ministry is closely monitoring reports of mass relocations of Kurds," describing the actions as “a violation that could impose a de facto situation by adding groups not native to Kirkuk’s population.”
“This could impact future elections,” he warned.
Keçeli affirmed Turkiye's strong support for Iraqi Turkmens, describing them as “a bridge of friendship” between the two countries. He noted that the intensive population movement had raised valid concerns among Turkmens and Arabs, even though the census would not collect ethnic data.
The Turkish official urged Iraqi authorities to prevent Turkmens, who, he said, had suffered “countless massacres and persecution” in the past century, from becoming “victims” again due to these recent developments.
On Wednesday, Mohammed Kamal, a senior figure in the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and head of its third branch, dismissed accusations from Arab and Turkmen groups alleging that families were being moved from Erbil and Al-Sulaymaniyah of the Kurdistan Region to Kirkuk to alter the province’s demographics ahead of the census.
He confirmed that those who returned to Kirkuk on Tuesday are its original Kurdish residents, asserting their “natural right” to participate in the census in their birthplace.
About Kirkuk
Kirkuk has a complex demographic history marked by significant ethnic and political shifts. Historically, Kirkuk was a mosaic of ethnic groups, with Kurds being the largest group, followed by Turkmen and Arabs.
The last official census in 1957 reported 178,000 Kurds, 48,000 Turkmen, and 43,000 Arabs living in Kirkuk.
Under Saddam Hussein's regime, the policy of Arabization significantly altered Kirkuk's ethnic composition. Arab families were relocated to Kirkuk, while many Kurds and Turkmen were displaced, altering the city's demographic balance. Following the fall of Saddam in 2003, many Kurds began returning to their ancestral lands in Kirkuk, reigniting ethnic and political tensions in the region.
The national census results could impact resource distribution and future negotiations between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Kirkuk's significant oil reserves add another layer of complexity, as the census results could influence the distribution of oil revenues and economic planning.