KIRKUK, Iraq — The 11th Division of the Iraqi Army, headquartered in Topzawa village south of Kirkuk, has confiscated 89 dunams of agricultural land from Kurdish farmers to expand its facility, raising tensions in the area.
Kurdish farmer Muhammed Hamid expressed his frustration over the situation: “Here, as you can see, we all have black deeds for our lands, totaling 90 dunams. Thirty dunams have already been confiscated, and now they are gradually attempting to take the rest.”
The confiscation of land by the army has drawn attention from Kurdish representatives in Baghdad. A spokesperson for the farmers revealed, “Two days ago, the army was supposed to relinquish the land, but today they have once again begun destroying it with shovel loaders.”
Satii Naseeh, a representative of the Kurdish farmers, criticized the actions of the Iraqi Army, stating, “What the Iraqi Army is doing here is completely against Article 140 of the Constitution and the Council of Ministers’ directives 29 and 30.”
“However, our representatives in Baghdad are not following up on the matter closely and seriously; otherwise, the Army’s actions would have no legal grounds.”
Kurdish farmers in Kirkuk's Topzawa village are facing renewed struggles as the Iraqi Army continues to confiscate their farmlands, frustrated by what they see as inadequate support from Kurdish representatives in the Iraqi parliament.
Reporting by Aram Jamal pic.twitter.com/B9J8JT7tDK
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The agricultural lands in Topzawa village cover a total of 15,000 dunams. Historically, these lands were affected by the Arabization campaign, which led to their ownership being transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.
The ongoing land seizure has intensified the long-standing dispute over land ownership in the region, with calls for the Iraqi government to intervene and uphold constitutional protections for the Kurdish farmers.
Reporting by Aram Jamal
