Iraqi special forces deployed in Kirkuk after Kurdish flag raising triggered tensions

Iraqi Special Operations Forces have been deployed in the Arab country’s Kirkuk after the flag of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was raised over a political party headquarters, which revived tensions more than a year after Baghdad seized the disputed northern city from the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

The stationing of troops on Thursday came two days after supporters of President Barham Saleh's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) held a rally in the city, waved KRG flags and hoisted one of them over the party’s headquarters.

The demonstration was dispersed by Iraqi security forces as Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi spoke by telephone with President Saleh, who was on a visit to Qatar, complaining that flying the KRG flag above the party headquarters in Kirkuk was “a violation of the constitution.”

Kirkuk Governor Saeed al Jabouri on Wednesday reportedly called on Baghdad to send troops to the city in order to defuse the emerging tension. A day earlier, he had called for calm after reports of clashes between police and pro-PUK demonstrators.

Jabouri had reportedly urged local residents to refrain from any act that could further aggravate tensions. “We have directed the security forces to address the situation with a view to safeguarding the city’s security and stability,” he was quoted as saying.

Jabouri, however, requested that the Iraqi government send military reinforcements to Kirkuk “to thwart those who would attempt to undermine security.”

Meanwhile, Iraq’s counter-terrorism chief gave the PUK until noon on Friday to lower the red, white, green and yellow flag of the semi-autonomous region.

PressTV-Kurdish forces withdraw to pre-Daesh line: Iraqi cmdr.

An Iraqi commander says Peshmerga forces have handed over the positions they seized after the emergence of Daesh in the country in 2014.

Tensions flared up between Iraq’s Kurdish region and the central government in Baghdad after the KRG held a highly controversial plebiscite on independence on September 25, 2017, despite strong opposition from Baghdad, the international community, and Iraq's neighboring countries, especially Turkey and Iran.

The vote, which was initially meant to be non-binding, saw more than 93 percent of Kurds back secession, and the KRG characterized it as binding after the results were released.

Infuriated by the so-called independence referendum held in the three provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan and some other areas, the federal government strongly rejected the poll as “illegal,” imposed economic penalties, seized the Kirkuk oil fields and halted exports.

PressTV-Civilians return to Kirkuk as Iraqi forces retake city

Government forces have taken over the reins of power in the northern city after pushing back Kurdish militants.

Following the vote, Baghdad also imposed a ban on direct international flights to and from the Kurdish region. The KRG at the time described the measures as “collective punishment.”

In October 2017, Iraqi federal forces retook control of Kirkuk and many disputed territories from the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in response to the referendum. Kirkuk has not been one of the three provinces that have made up the Kurdish region since 2003. However, Kurdish militants used a vacuum created when government troops were fighting against Daesh terrorists to overtake the oil-rich city.

In December that year, however, Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan announced a deal to resume oil exports from Kirkuk.

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