Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdistan Region Tightens Political Control of Kirkuk with Parliamentary Office

Oct 18, 2014 | Rudaw
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KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region appears to be tightening their political control of Kirkuk after the Kurdish Parliament opened its first local office in the city, which is also claimed by Baghdad.

The office connects the oil-rich city with the Kurdish Regional Government, whose Peshmerga forces stepped in after Iraqi government forces retreated from an Islamic State sweep across northern Iraq in June.

“Opening this office here is to prove the Kurdish identity of Kirkuk and it should have taken place long ago,” Yousif Muhammad, speaker of Kurdistan’s Parliament, said on Thursday during the office’s inauguration, which was also attended by Najmaldin Karim, Kirkuk's governor.