Official calls for delaying eviction of residents from a neighborhood in Kirkuk

Shafaq News / Ahmed Kirkuki, the winning candidate for Kirkuk Provincial Council from the Kirkuk Alliance (Our Strength, Our Will), urged Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, on Wednesday, to issue a decree postponing the eviction of the predominantly Kurdish-populated Nawroz neighborhood by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

During a press conference today, Kirkuki addressed the Iraqi army's direction towards the aforementioned neighborhood, notifying residents to evacuate their homes on the grounds that the land belongs to the Ministry of Defense.

He stated, "We request the Prime Minister's intervention in resolving this issue and alleviating the citizens' suffering by legally selling these houses to them. We also demand a halt to the withdrawal of these residences by the Ministry of Defense, as this action is illegal, a clear violation of human rights, and contrary to the constitution and the law since the inhabitants are first and foremost Iraqi citizens. They were forcibly displaced during the previous regime's era and have returned to their city to live on their own land and that of their ancestors."

He added, "As representatives of the people of Kirkuk, we reassure our people from all ethnicities: we are diligently working to resolve this issue through lawful means, relying on the law, and we will not tire or relent."

Kirkuk is among the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad covered under Article 140 of the constitution. Before the Kurdistan Region's independence referendum conducted in September 2017, it was under joint authority between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government.

Article 140 calls for the reversal of demographic policies imposed by Saddam Hussein's regime in disputed areas favoring Arabs over Kurds. It mandates a population census before the final step, which involves conducting a referendum to determine whether the inhabitants wish to join the Kurdistan Region or remain under Baghdad's administration.

The completion of the implementation of Article 140 was initially scheduled by the end of 2007, but security and political issues hindered its progress.

In 2019, the Federal Supreme Court ruled for the retention of Article 140 of the Iraqi Republic's constitution, affirming its continuance until its requisites are fulfilled and its objectives are achieved.