ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday said that the Iraqi government should reveal the findings of an investigation it has launched into the recent killing of four Kurdish protesters in Kirkuk, calling on Baghdad to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Dozens of protesters, mainly supporters of Shiite militia groups, staged a sit-in late August, blocking the Erbil-Kirkuk highway, protesting a decision by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to allow the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to return to its former headquarters in the city, which is currently occupied by the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command.
Kurdish residents of Kirkuk last week amassed in protest against the blockade on the highway. The protesters lit fires in several streets and blocked traffic. The army responded violently, injuring more than a dozen. Four Kurdish protesters were also killed but it is not clear if they were killed by the security forces or Shiite militants who were present near the area.
The Iraqi prime minister has launched an investigation, vowing to hold accountable those responsible for the deaths and injuries. The HRW said that the Sudani “should be independent and impartial in its investigation of allegations of excessive use of deadly force by Iraqi security forces.”
“The Iraqi government should make the preliminary findings of the investigation public as soon as possible, and where evidence of wrongdoing has been found, bring those responsible to justice in fair trials,” read the statement by the international rights watchdog.
The HRW cited witnesses as saying that the Iraqi security forces opened fire suddenly and without warning.
Kirkuk is a multiethnic city home to Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. The city was under joint administration before 2014, when Kurds took full control after Iraqi forces withdrew in the face of a brazen offensive by the Islamic State (ISIS) group threatening the city.
Kurds liberated Kirkuk when ISIS attacked it, holding it until October 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces retook control and expelled Kurdish security forces following the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum.
