Iraq
A Kurdish farmer speaks to Rudaw in Gurzayy village in Kirkuk’s Pirde (Altun Kupri) district on December 7, 2025. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish farmers in a town north of Kirkuk province said Sunday that they are being told to sign a pledge they suspect could undermine their land ownership, in exchange for being allowed to complete their current harvest. Earlier in the day, Iraqi army forces had prevented these farmers from working on their fields in Pirde (Altun Kupri).
“We are not ready to sign any pledge. We will not sign it. Signing such a pledge would mean giving up ownership of this land,” Ibrahim, one of the farmers, told Rudaw, noting that they possess land deeds proving their ownership.
Farmers also told Rudaw that Iraqi army soldiers remain stationed in the area, continuing to block them from harvesting their cornfields.
Late Saturday night, Iraqi security forces entered Pirde, forcing Kurdish farmers to halt their harvest after an Arab man from Iraq’s northern Nineveh province claimed ownership of the plot based on a Ba’ath-era deed.
Abdulmutalib Najmaddin, director of the Pirde subdistrict, told Rudaw on Sunday that although a preliminary court decision had been issued in the man’s case, the ruling was later overturned and the rightful owners “were allowed to harvest their crops again.” He stressed that “this issue must be resolved.”
Meanwhile, two Kurdish farmers told Rudaw that they were physically assaulted by the Iraqi officers.
Land disputes between Arab settlers and Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk and other disputed areas date back to Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime. In 1975, several Kurdish villages were declared prohibited oil zones, and residents were stripped of their land rights. By 1977, the Baath Supreme Revolutionary Court redistributed those lands to Arab settlers.
After the regime’s fall in 2003, Iraq adopted Article 140 of the constitution to reverse such demographic manipulations. However, implementation of the constitution and laws aimed at reversing Baath-era policies has stalled and farmers are losing one season after another.
In January, Iraq’s parliament passed a land restitution law to return property confiscated from Kurds and Turkmen during the Baath era. The legislation covers approximately 300,000 dunams - around 750 square kilometers, based on Iraq’s definition of a dunam as 2,500 square meters - in Kirkuk and other disputed areas. This followed a July 2023 federal government decision to revoke Baath-era decrees.
The bill has reportedly been sent to the Iraqi Council of State for endorsement before moving to the Council of Ministers for final approval.
However, as the full implementation of the Iraqi constitution and laws aimed at reversing Baath-era policies stalls, farmers continue to lose one cultivation season after another.
Hardi Mohammed contributed to this report from Kirkuk.
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