What Happens in This City Could Determine Iraq's Future
KIRKUK, Iraq In a small room within a compound of nondescript buildings southwest of Kirkuk, three Kurdish peshmerga commanders are gathered in front of a giant map that covers the wall behind them.
The map is dotted with dozens of arrows and pins. Each marks a point on the front line against the Islamic State (IS), and the brigade that controls it.
"We liberated this entire area," says one of the men, sweeping his hand across the middle of the map. "We feel now that the enemy is very weak."
Before IS stormed through northern Iraq last year, this area and Kirkuk itself were controlled by the Iraqi army. But when the maraudingmilitants reached the edge of the city in June, most of the soldiers dropped their weapons and fled, leaving the peshmerga the armed forces of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to move in and claim a prizethey have long considered their own.
Today, the peshmerga have pushed even further south of the city, taking back villages and towns from IS. They have lost some1,500 fighters. But the pins on the map are piling up.
The people of Kirkuk have largely welcomed the peshmerga and the security theyve brought. But the question of whether Kurdish forces should remain there permanently is more controversial. The answer could have a dramatic impact on the future of Iraq.
There is a tug-of-war going on for this city with its massive oil wealth and a multicultural population of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Assyrians, among other groups. Either it will remain part of Iraq, or become part of Kurdistan. Neither side wants to give it up.
A view of the area southwest of Kirkuk under the control of the Peshmerga. The frontline with the Islamic State lies just beyond the hill in the distance.
The Iraqi troops left the people of Kirkuk for ISIS, says Dr.Kemal Kirkuki, the peshmerga commander for this winding frontline and the former speaker of Kurdistans parliament. They ran away.
As far as Kirkuki sees it, Kurdish forces saved the city from IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Thats given Kurds sudden control of a place they have long claimed as part of Kurdistan.
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What Happens in This City Could Determine Iraq's Future