Clashes Break Out at Turkmen Political Party Office in Kirkuk Ahead of Independence Referendum
Category: Unrest
Severity: 3 (Moderate)
Source: Drum Cussac
09/19/2017 (Iraq) - Media reports indicate that at least one person was killed on the night of Monday, 19 September, when clashes broke out outside a Turkmen political party office in Kirkuk. Additional police forces were deployed to the area following the clash and erected a number of checkpoints throughout the city. At least two other Kurds and a Turkmen security guard are reported to have been injured in the incident which occurred when a convoy of Kurdish vehicles celebrating the referendum passed in front of the Turkmen offices. Tensions around the Kurdish independence referendum have been high in Kirkuk since the Kurdish-led provincial government voted to include the city in the poll. Kirkuk lies outside the officially recognised boundaries of Iraq's Kurdistan region and is claimed by both Kurdish and Iraqi authorities. However, the city has been under de facto Kurdish control since 2014.
Those in Kirkuk are advised to exercise a heightened level of caution given the increased tensions in the city and ongoing security operations ahead of the referendum on 25 September. Travellers should minimise time spent in the vicinity of demonstrations and political gatherings as well as polling stations, political party offices and other electoral infrastructure due to the risk of exposure to potential crowd disturbances and incidental violence. Travellers should monitor local media sources for further updates on the security situation in their particular area of operations and to remain apprised of any referendum related disruption.
Copyright © 2024 Drum Cussac
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