BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced Feb. 12 that the security situation in Kirkuk has been stabilized. However, Kurdish parties now say Kurdish peshmerga forces have returned to Kirkuk province — an area disputed by Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.
The federal authorities led by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi restored control over Kirkuk and the disputed areas from peshmerga forces after the independence referendum of Kurdistan in October 2017. As a result, Kirkuk's former Kurdish Gov. Najmiddin Karim escaped, and Arab Gov. Rakan al-Jabouri was temporarily appointed.
