A curfew has been imposed in Iraq’s Kirkuk after rival demonstrations by Kurdish and Arab residents descended into deadly violence.
At least one civilian was killed and eight people were injured.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered the curfew as well as “extensive security operations in the areas affected by the riots”, said a statement from his office on Saturday.
Shia al-Sudani called on all parties to “play their part in preventing strife and preserving security, stability and order in Kirkuk Governorate”.
But the circumstances surrounding the death were not immediately clear, the director of the local health authority, Ziad Khalaf, told the AFP news agency, adding that those injured had been hit by bullets, stones or glass, reports Al Jazeera.
He said a member of the security forces was among the injured.
Tensions have been brewing for nearly a week in Kirkuk, which has historically been disputed between the federal government in Baghdad and authorities in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
The frictions centre on the occupation of a building in Kirkuk that served as the headquarters for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the past but which the Iraqi army has used as a base since 2017.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
