A common administration model between Turkmens, Arabs and Kurds is essential for Iraq’s Kirkuk province as a means to head off underlying potential ethnic tensions, said Aydın Maruf, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) minister of State for Minority Affairs.

"Kirkuk has entered normalization right now," Maruf told Daily Sabah in an exclusive interview, following unrest over the weekend in the province which is around 250 kilometers (155.34 miles) north of Baghdad. "There is political competition over Kirkuk," he pointed out, indicating the several ethnic groups of the country. "Joint administration is vital for Kirkuk. Before that, all sides have ruled in Kirkuk, however, justice as well as fair politics have not been established."

Protests broke out in the multiethnic area after the central government announced a plan to evacuate an army facility in the city and hand it over to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

The plan prompted Arab and Turkmen protesters to stage a sit-in near the army building and block a main road linking Kirkuk and Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous region. The groups, who say they suffered under Kurdish rule, have protested the KDP's return to the city.

Kurdish residents in Kirkuk, meanwhile, held a counterprotest, expressing support for a KDP return to the city.

Peshmerga forces of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) were deployed to bases evacuated by the Iraqi army in Kirkuk following the emergence of the Daesh terrorist group in 2014.

In 2017, Iraqi government forces entered Kirkuk, ending the Peshmerga presence in the city.

An agreement, under Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani, included a provision for the return of the KDP to the province, which sparked backlash from some communities in Kirkuk.

"The KDP is an important political party in Iraq. According to the Constitution, the KDP has the right to an office in Kirkuk as other parties do," Maruf said, adding that even illegal groups have political offices in the oil-rich province.

He pointed out that the PKK is a big threat, stirring disorder, to both Kirkuk and several other regions in Iraq and called on the central Iraqi government to take security measures against the terrorist group.

Speaking on ethnic tensions that erupt from time to time due to several issues in the country as with the KDP office incident, Maruf elaborated that Kirkuk is a strategic province for the local ethnic groups as it is for Turkmens. "Kirkuk is a small model of the mosaic of Iraq," Maruf underlined.

"Turkmens always support peace and dialogue and have a significant presence in Kirkuk."

The protests saw gunfire and the torching of tires. Four people were killed and 15 others injured in the violence. Security forces imposed a brief curfew in the province of the same name. The curfew was lifted Sunday.

Amid the protests, the government decided to postpone the evacuation of the army's Joint Operations Command headquarters in the city, according to Kirkuk Governor Rakan al-Jabouri.

He said the postponement was made following a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Al Sudani.

The protesters then decided to end their sit-in and reopen the road, the official added.

Turkish support

On the other side, Maruf also thanked Türkiye for drawing attention to the issue, reminding that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan voiced concern about the unrest.

"Fidan’s statement has been a moral support and his voicing the issue with Iran is a significant message. Türkiye has always supported Turkmens," Maruf said.

Fidan on Sunday said at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the capital Tehran that "We are saddened and concerned over tensions that have resulted in loss of lives in Kirkuk, which is the ancestral homeland of our Turkmen kin."

"The peace and stability of Kirkuk affect the overall peace and stability of Iraq. We see Kirkuk as a symbol of the culture of peaceful coexistence," he added.

"We believe that it is essential to preserve the delicate social balance in this city and ensure equal representation and participation for all groups in governance.

"We have long supported the formula for achieving equal representation and participation of all segments in the city," he added.

Fidan further said that safeguarding the rights and interests of Turkmen groups is among the key elements of Turkish policy toward Iraq.

"We will continue to oppose the politicization of Turkmen rights and support the Turkmen community in all areas."