Why Tuz Khormato clashes were more than just local skirmishes
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.
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.
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?
