Kirkuk mobilizes tribes and state institutions against extremism

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Kirkuk is turning to its tribal leaders and state institutions to strengthen stability in the diverse northern province and keep extremist ideology at bay, Iraqi officials told Shafaq News on Saturday.

Ali Abdullah al-Badiri, head of the National Committee for Combating Violent Extremism Leading to Terrorism at the National Security Advisory, pointed to Kirkuk's historical and cultural heritage as a factor that strengthens the prospects for coexistence, stressing that the area's stability rests on positive engagement among its different communities.

Kirkuk police chief Major General Fattah Mahmoud Yassin al-Khafaji offered a similar assessment, portraying the province as a "miniature Iraq" that reflects the unity of its diverse communities.

"Iraqi tribes are the main pillar and the supporting force for the security forces in maintaining security and stability," al-Khafaji added, noting that security operations alone cannot prevent violent radicalization and that community figures and religious leaders have a role to play in promoting moderation and tolerance.

Kirkuk's first deputy governor, Rebwar Taha, in turn, endorsed the National Committee's plans and programs to combat extremist activity.

The remarks came during the 17th coordination meeting of subcommittees tasked with combating extremism, held in Kirkuk on Saturday with representatives from Iraq's provinces and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Kirkuk, home to Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen communities, has long been at the center of territorial disputes between Baghdad and Erbil. Article 140 of Iraq's post-2003 Constitution established a process to address demographic changes carried out under Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime and determine the status of Kirkuk and other disputed territories, but the process has never been completed. Peshmerga forces took control of Kirkuk during the ISIS offensive in 2014 before Iraqi forces reasserted control in October 2017.

Read more: Discover Iraq: Kirkuk, a city of oil, culture, and conflict