ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish farmers from surrounding towns and villages in Kirkuk have appeared before courts in separate cases on Monday accusing “Arab settlers” of seeking to claim their farmland amid a series of long-running disputes over what they term as attempts toward “Arabization.”
Fifteen Kurdish farmers from Tapa Soz village east of Kirkuk province appeared before a court in Tuz Khurmatu, over 90 km south of Kirkuk, on Monday in addition to a separate incident where a Kurdish farmer from Kirkuk province attended court for the 29th time in an ongoing legal dispute over land.
"They filed one lawsuit against me claiming I blocked their path and threw stones at them last year," farmer Jaber Hamid told Rudaw's Hardi Mohammed. "They also filed another case in my late father's name, even though he has passed away."
His brother, Adnan Hamid, alleged that the Arab claimants receive strong support, making it difficult for Kurdish farmers to defend their rights, noting that the hearing has been postponed until late August.
The lawsuits are part of an ongoing legal battle over farmland surrounding Kirkuk province, which remains under dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region.
Kurdish farmers allege that “Arab settlers” are attempting to seize their agricultural land through the court system, noting that court cases over disputed farmland persist despite several federal decisions intended to resolve land disputes in Kirkuk and other disputed territories.
In a separate case, Kurdish farmer Mohammed Amin's incident in February 2025 which was filmed with a soldier dragging him by his scarf during a protest by displaced farmers, appeared before the Kirkuk court for the 29th time.
"My complaint is still moving forward, and I have already given my testimony at the Tis'in police station," he said, accusing local authorities in Kirkuk and Salahaddin provinces of failing to implement measures that favor the original landowners.
Amin told Rudaw that Monday's hearing was postponed until August 23 because the soldier who filed a complaint against him did not attend the session.
Another farmer, Ghafoor Ahmed, who is over 70 years old, said his family has owned the land since 1955. He claimed the legal pressure stems from their Kurdish identity.
Land disputes between Kurdish farmers and Arab settlers in Kirkuk and surrounding areas date back to the Baath era under former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In the 1970s, thousands of dunams of Kurdish-owned farmland were confiscated and redistributed to Iraqi Arab citizens under agricultural contracts.
In January 2025, Iraq's parliament passed a land restitution law aimed at returning property confiscated from Kurds and Turkmen during the Baath era.
The legislation followed a 2023 federal government decision revoking Baath-era agricultural contracts, but many disputes remain unresolved, with lawsuits continuing in courts across Kirkuk and neighboring disputed areas.
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