The PUK said more than a hundred thousand families were displaced from their homes after their houses were “burned down or looted.”
Tens of civilians were killed, the PUK said, adding that many others went missing and some 2000 houses belonging to Kurds had been destroyed or burned.
“The whole world knows that after the fight against ISIS, there were sectarian plots. There were attempts to control Khurmatu all the way to Amirli, Sleman Beg and Yangaja by sectarian groups,” said the PUK. “Not only these areas, but the Kurds are also subjected to chauvinistic hatred and sectarianism from militias."
The PUK also warned that unless the UN, Iraqi government, parliament and America intervened to stop it, there are fears of “genocide against Kurds in these Kurdistani disputed areas.”
It urged the formation of “an investigation committee by the Iraqi parliament to expose these crimes” and recommended that the government must prevent further crimes.
“There should be retribution for the criminals and those affected should be compensated,” said the PUK.
The party discouraged all the other Kurdish parties and politicians from meeting “the leaders of the armed criminals but instead call for their punishment.”
The PUK said it was against bringing various armed groups to Khurmatu from the very beginning.
“We have done our utmost to serve all of those affected from Khurmatu who have fled to Garmiyan, Sulaimani and Chamchamal,” the PUK said.
The world’s main rights organizations such as the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have all voiced concerns about reported killings, kidnappings and mass displacement in Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu as well as other areas at the hands of Shiite militias since October 16.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) informed Amnesty that nearly 35,000 civilians have fled Tuz Khurmatu since October 16. Many civilians interviewed said they fled between 2 am and 6 am due to the fighting as the Iraqi and Hashd al-Shaabi forces began their takeover of the town.
The civilians who were interviewed by Amnesty are now taking refuge in nearby villages, cities and camps. None of them felt it was safe enough to return home.
“Humanitarian support for the tens of thousands of people who have fled Tuz Khurmatu must be earmarked and provided as a matter of urgency, both by the international community and the Iraqi government,” said Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International, on Tuesday. “It is also essential that the authorities swiftly restore security and the rule of law and establish conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary and sustainable return of tens of thousands of displaced residents.”
Iraq’s minister for displaced persons, Darbaz Mohammed, on Saturday described the situation in the multi-ethnic town of Tuz Khurmatu as “out of control” and unsafe for Kurdish residents to return to at this time.
Iraqi forces and Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi took control of Tuz Khurmatu, 65 kilometers south of Kirkuk, from the Peshmerga on October 16.
Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu, like the rest of the disputed or Kurdistani areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad, joined the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum that saw an overwhelming 92.7 percent of people choosing to leave Iraq.
The Peshmerga and Hashd al-Shaabi have clashed several times in multi-ethnic Tuz Khurmatu. In April 2016, both parties reached an agreement to withdraw their military forces from urban areas.
