SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) raised Kurdistan flags over its headquarters in Kirkuk on Jan. 9, sparking tensions between Kurds and other ethnicities in the multiethnic city and between Iraqi Kurdistan and Baghdad as well.
Kirkuk, 145 miles north of Baghdad, has a mixed population of Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs along with significant oil reserves. According to article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, the final status of Kirkuk and other areas should be resolved in a referendum to determine whether they will remain part of federal Iraq or the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.