Kurds expelling Sunni Iraqis from Kirkuk after attack

The United Nations voiced concern yesterday that Kurdish authorities had forced 250 displaced Sunni Arab families to leave Kirkuk after a Daesh attack on the Kurdish-controlled city, calling the move “collective punishment”.

Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said that the action came days before an expected mass exodus from the northern city of Mosul, where an offensive by Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led coalition, is under way against Daesh.

“We were informed that two days after the attack by Daesh, the Kirkuk authorities announced that they will be expelling the (displaced Sunni Arab) civilian population and just a few hours after the announcement we understand that around 250 civilian families felt they had no choice but to leave,” Grande said. “The United Nations is very concerned about any action that could be understood as collective punishment,” she said, adding she was worried that the move could set a precedent.

The Sunni families, who had been sheltering in Kurdishcontrolled Kirkuk province from the conflict with Daesh, began moving out after authorities told them on Sunday to leave or face being forcibly expelled, the sources said.

About 330,000 Sunni Arabs have taken refuge in the oilrich Kirkuk province in the last two years, after Daesh swept through northern, central and western Iraq in 2014.

Some had fled because of the fighting and others because of the hardline Sunni group’s harsh rules.

Daesh fighters stormed police stations and buildings in Kirkuk on Friday, killing about 100 security force members and civilians. Sixty-three militants also died in the heavy fighting that lasted until Sunday, when authorities restored control.

The terrorists carried out the operation to relieve pressure on Mosul, the last major city stronghold of Daesh in Iraq, where the group is fighting off an offensive by Iraqi army units and Kurdish forces backed by a US-led coalition.

The militants are suspected to have come from Hawija, a pocket still under their control west of Kirkuk, but authorities also suspect that they were assisted by sleeper cells hiding among the displaced people or even by Sunni Arab residents.