Residents of Tuz Khurmatu threaten protests over dissolution of “Northern Axis Turkmen Force”
Shafaq News/ On Friday, residents of Tuz Khurmatu in Saladin governorate demanded the reversal of the decision to dissolve the Northern Axis/Turkmen Force, threatening to cut off roads and stage sit-ins until the decision is revoked.
Shafaq News Agency's correspondent reported that dozens of Tuz Khurmatu residents held a conference, calling on political leaders, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and the head of the Popular Mobilization Forces Faleh al-Fayyad to halt the decision to cancel the Northern Axis/Turkmen Force. They argued that the dissolution of the Northern Axis was an unwise decision.
The residents threatened to block the main highway between Kirkuk and Baghdad and stage open sit-ins unless the decision to dissolve the Northern Axis is reversed or integrated with other commands. They emphasized that the people of Tuz Khurmatu had sacrificed over a thousand martyrs in the liberation of Turkmen areas.
The residents demand to maintain the Northern Axis/Turkmen Force and reject any decision to cancel or merge it with any other command.
An earlier security source in al-Hashed al-Shaabi (the Popular Mobilization Forces-PMF) informed Shafaq News Agency that a decision was issued to dissolve the Northern Axis/Turkmen Force, headquartered in Kirkuk and Saladin.
The source stated that the decision was issued by the leadership of the PMF and the General Staff without specifying the reasons for the dissolution of the force.
The Northern Axis was formed alongside the establishment of the PMF when ISIS occupied several governorates. It is tasked with protecting Turkmen areas in Saladin and Kirkuk and has participated in many battles to liberate areas from ISIS control in Saladin, Kirkuk, and Nineveh.
