After the events, security forces increased their measures at the entrance of Altınköprü and Kirkuk city center between Erbil and Kirkuk.
The curfew was lifted this morning, and the Erbil Kirkuk road was opened in a controlled manner.
In the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a KDP supporter group burned tires and closed some roads, attacking the security forces in the city center demanding the opening of the Erbil-Kirkuk highway, which was blocked by those who opposed the handing over of the army-controlled building to the KDP. Detail @trthaber‘also. pic.twitter.com/ZZHaUcRLxE
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A commission was set up by Prime Minister Mohammad Shia es-Sudani to deal with the events.
Counter-demonstrations were held in Kirkuk, where the reactions to the decision to hand over the headquarters to the KDP continued.
Peshmerga forces affiliated to the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) started to deploy to the bases evacuated by the Iraqi army in Kirkuk after the emergence of the terrorist organization DAESH in 2014, and took the de facto control of the city for 3 years.
After the so-called “independence referendum” and the annexation attempt of the KRG on September 25, 2017, forces affiliated with the central government entered Kirkuk on October 16, 2017, ending the Peshmerga presence in the city.
The Iraqi army evacuated the KDP building and made it the Kirkuk Operations Command headquarters.
KDP states that the building in question was used by them before and should be given to them again.
The protests against the allegations that the building was evacuated by the order of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia es-Sudani and that preparations were made for its handover to the KDP have been going on since 25 August.
The demonstrations in front of the headquarters are supported by Sunni Arab Tribes in Kirkuk, different groups from Turkmen, and some supporters of the Asayib Ehlilhak Movement led by Kays al-Hazali.
On the other hand, those gathered in the Rahimava region, where Kurds live intensely, organized a counter-demonstration.
When the demonstrators, who argued that the building used by the army should be given to the KDP, approached the area of action carried out by Arabs and Turkmens in front of the headquarters, the security forces opened fire in the air, it was seen that smoke rose from the scene and ambulances were dispatched to the area.