ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Sunday addressed land disputes in the Sargaran subdistrict northwest of Kirkuk, approving solutions that allow Kurdish farmers to cultivate their lands, which had previously been confiscated, a representative of the Sargaran farmers told Rudaw.
The decision reportedly comes after farmers “presented a range of possible solutions to address the ongoing [land] disputes,” Mohammed Amin said, adding that Sudani approved their demands.
Tensions in Sargaran escalated in mid-February when Iraqi security forces forcefully barred Kurdish farmers from accessing their lands, which had been seized during the Baath era and given to Arab settlers. The move was seemingly geared to alter the demographic makeup in disputed regions, namely oil-rich Kirkuk.
Raw footage from the incident, filmed by Rudaw, showed Iraqi army and anti-riot forces clashing with civilians from Sargaran’s Shanagha village as they tried to enter their farmland. The video, which has since gone viral, also depicted an Iraqi security officer trying to forcibly remove Amin from his tractor.
The crackdown on farmers drew sharp reactions from officials in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, prompting Sudani to task a special committee with probing the incident.
On Sunday, Iraqi Justice Minister Khalid Shwani received Amin and informed him that Sudani endorsed the recommendations of the special committee. “Our issues have been resolved and we can start cultivating our lands,” Amin told Rudaw after the meeting.
The Iraqi presidency in mid-February ratified the land restitution law aimed at returning lands confiscated under the Baath regime to their original owners.
The law pertains to 300,000 dunams of land belonging to Kurdish and Turkmen owners in Kirkuk and other disputed areas. The Sargaran subdistrict includes 42 villages, five of which are at the center of the dispute. These villages are Shanagha, Pelkana, Sarbashakh, Gabaraka, and Kharaba.
Iraq’s Second Deputy of the Parliament Speaker, Shakhawan Abdullah, confirmed to Rudaw in mid-February that following the presidency’s ratification, the land restitution law is set to be implemented imminently as “there are no longer any obstacles to its implementation.”
