Iraqi forces took over more oil fields near the city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, along with the town of Sinjar, as they expanded a pushback against Kurdish control of areas outside of their semi-autonomous region.
The military said Kurdish fighters withdrew from the Bai Hasan and Avana oil fields, leaving federal security forces to take over.
A similar dynamic played out in Sinjar where pro-government forces moved into the town Tuesday after the Kurdish Peshmerga moved out.
Tuesday’s developments followed a swift move by government forces Monday to capture the Kirkuk governor’s office, key military sites and an oil field. The U.S.-trained troops, acting on orders from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, raised Iraqi flags in place of Kurdish banners.
Kurds had held the city since 2014 when they secured it against Islamic State fighters. But the central government had demanded they relinquish control, and moved to act following a Kurdish independence referendum last month.
WATCH: US Not Taking Sides in Iraqi-Kurdish Skirmishes
“We continue to support a unified Iraq. Dialogue remains the best option to defuse ongoing tensions and longstanding issues,” Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Robert Manning told reporters Monday.
However, the peshmerga said Baghdad would pay “a heavy price” for the “war on the Kurdistan people.”
When asked about the situation during a press briefing at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States is remaining neutral, noting the “very good relationship” with the Kurds and that “we’ve also been on the side of Iraq.”
“We don’t like the fact that they’re clashing,” Trump said Monday. “We are not taking sides in that battle.”
US calls for calm
The U.S. State Department called for calm in the skirmish over Kirkuk, not wanting to ignite a new front in Iraq’s 14-year civil war.
“We are monitoring the situation in Kirkuk closely and are very concerned by reports of a confrontation,” the U.S. State Department said. “We are engaged with all parties in Iraq to de-escalate tension.”
Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said, “We call on all parties to immediately cease military action and restore calm while we continue to work with officials from the central and regional governments to reduce tensions and avoid further clashes. We support the peaceful exercise of joint administration by the central and regional governments, consistent with the Iraqi Constitution, in all disputed areas.”
The embassy said Islamic State “remains the true enemy of Iraq, and we urge all parties to remain focused on finishing the liberation of their country from this menace.”
On Capitol Hill, Senator Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told VOA the situation could inhibit efforts to fight the Islamic State militant group, urging calm to avoid a “bitter, sectarian strife.”
“There is great danger that military actions in Kirkuk could get out of control and that’s something that we have be very, very conscious of and put all we can in terms of diplomatic pressure on the government, both in Baghdad and in Irbil, to pull back and discuss future arrangements,” Reed said.
Iranian influence
Michael O’Hanlon, a senior defense expert at the Brookings Institution, told VOA Monday that the dispute gives Iran an opportunity to expand its influence in the area, an impact that has expanded as Iranian-backed units have worked alongside the Iraqis to defeat Islamic State.
“At this point we no longer have the luxury of pretending we can wish away Iran’s influence in Iraq,” O’Hanlon said. “It’s not violating anybody’s sovereignty. It’s not dictating to the Iraqi government, but it still has quite a bit of influence when the rubber meets the road.”
Prime Minister Abadi said the military operation was necessary to “protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition” because of the Kurdish referendum.
“We call upon all citizens to cooperate with our heroic armed forces, which are committed to our strict directives to protect civilians in the first place, and to impose security and order, and to protect state installations and institutions,” al-Abadi said.
Civilians flee
As the situation in Kirkuk unfolded Monday, thousands of Kurdish civilians left the city.
Kurdish fighters controlled Kirkuk since 2014 when they secured the area from Islamic State fighters, but the government in Baghdad insisted the Kurds relinquish control, continuing a long-standing dispute over authority in the region.
Iraqi Turkmen Front leader Ershad Salihi told VOA’s Turkish service that the future of Kirkuk must be decided by all of the parties involved, including Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds and Christians.
“Our suggestion is to set up a federal structure in Kirkuk, including its own legislature where all Turkmens, Arabs and Kurds are equally represented, an interim legislature,” Salihi said. “Then should follow the elections resulting in new elected representatives and new projects.” | via Voice of America
