Looks like it is the old Sunni-Shiite rivalry rearing its ugly head once again.
Why Tuz Khormato clashes were more than just local skirmishes
The relative calm that had reigned for months at Tuz Khormato, Iraq, ended in the early hours of April 24 when an explosion in the town center prompted clashes between the Iraqi government-sponsored, mostly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units and the Kurdish peshmerga forces.
Summary⎙ Print In Tuz Khormato, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish peshmerga forces recently fought what appears to be a battle in the Shiite-Sunni power struggle, and not just a localized skirmish.
Author Mahmut BozarslanPosted May 5, 2016
TranslatorTimur Göksel
Reports said a militant lobbed a hand grenade into the house of Kurdish notable Goran Gewher. His bodyguards responded and the clashes broke out. The Kurdistan Regional Government sent reinforcements to the town in Kirkuk province.
The clashes ended after six Kurds and about 30 members of the Popular Mobilization Units were killed. Both sides agreed to withdraw their forces from the town.
The events appeared to be localized clashes, but were they?
About 60,000 Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens of Shiite and Sunni sects live in the town. Tuz Khormato is a disputed zone, claimed by both the Kurdish administration and the central government in Baghdad.
In 2014, when the Islamic State (IS) approached Tuz Khormato, Kurdish forces took control of the town. But when the Popular Mobilization Units also came to the area, tensions mounted.
What are the Popular Mobilization Units? After Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, recognized as the top Shiite authority in Iraq, issued a fatwa to fight IS, Shiite tribes in southern Iraq formed the Popular Mobilization Units. These forces are now in Tuz Khormato and want to control it. Facing them are the Sunni Kurdish peshmerga. Tension between them escalated to clashes in November. There were fatalities, but the clashes ended with a cease-fire reportedly arranged by Iran.
This claim offers some light on the background of the clashes at Tuz Khormato. Although the mobilization units were set up by Shiite tribes, few doubt that Iran is behind them. The Tuz Khormato clashes may appear to be local incidents, but they are actually a new page in the history of hundreds of years in Shiite-Sunni discord.
Read more:
Why Tuz Khormato clashes were more than just local skirmishes - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
Why Tuz Khormato clashes were more than just local skirmishes
The relative calm that had reigned for months at Tuz Khormato, Iraq, ended in the early hours of April 24 when an explosion in the town center prompted clashes between the Iraqi government-sponsored, mostly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units and the Kurdish peshmerga forces.
Summary⎙ Print In Tuz Khormato, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish peshmerga forces recently fought what appears to be a battle in the Shiite-Sunni power struggle, and not just a localized skirmish.
Author Mahmut BozarslanPosted May 5, 2016
TranslatorTimur Göksel
Reports said a militant lobbed a hand grenade into the house of Kurdish notable Goran Gewher. His bodyguards responded and the clashes broke out. The Kurdistan Regional Government sent reinforcements to the town in Kirkuk province.
The clashes ended after six Kurds and about 30 members of the Popular Mobilization Units were killed. Both sides agreed to withdraw their forces from the town.
The events appeared to be localized clashes, but were they?
About 60,000 Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens of Shiite and Sunni sects live in the town. Tuz Khormato is a disputed zone, claimed by both the Kurdish administration and the central government in Baghdad.
In 2014, when the Islamic State (IS) approached Tuz Khormato, Kurdish forces took control of the town. But when the Popular Mobilization Units also came to the area, tensions mounted.
What are the Popular Mobilization Units? After Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, recognized as the top Shiite authority in Iraq, issued a fatwa to fight IS, Shiite tribes in southern Iraq formed the Popular Mobilization Units. These forces are now in Tuz Khormato and want to control it. Facing them are the Sunni Kurdish peshmerga. Tension between them escalated to clashes in November. There were fatalities, but the clashes ended with a cease-fire reportedly arranged by Iran.
This claim offers some light on the background of the clashes at Tuz Khormato. Although the mobilization units were set up by Shiite tribes, few doubt that Iran is behind them. The Tuz Khormato clashes may appear to be local incidents, but they are actually a new page in the history of hundreds of years in Shiite-Sunni discord.
Read more:
Why Tuz Khormato clashes were more than just local skirmishes - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
