PMFs reject deployment of U.S. troops in Kirkuk disputed areas
U.S. troops in Kirkuk
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs) reject the deployment of any U.S. troops at the disputed areas in Kirkuk, their spokesman said.
“Kirkuk is totally secure and there is no need of any foreign troops there,” Ali al-Husseini, the PMF spokesman for the northern axis, said in a Tuesday statement, a copy of which was obtained by Alforat News.
“The Iraqi troops are capable of protecting all factions and maintaining social peace in these areas,” Husseini said.
He vowed that the Popular Mobilization Forces will harshly deal with any foreign troops using force against Iraqi people at the disputed areas. However, he ruled out that an agreement was reached to deploy more foreign troops in these areas.
In late November, the Iraqi military denied news that U.S. troops headed towards Kirkuk, saying no more of the U.S.-led Coalition troops are in Kirkuk or elsewhere in Iraq.
“Some media channels quoted Kurdish sources as saying that U.S. troops moved toward Kirkuk,” the Joint Operations Command said in a statement, denying that the news are true.
“No extra Coalition troops are in Kirkuk or elsewhere in Iraqi territories,” the command said. “Foreign troops are not allowed to control lands, increase their number or equipment.”
Mohamed Othman, a Kurdish parliamentarian from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, told Dwarozh website that a U.S. force had arrived night at K1 military base, coming from Erbil via Dibis.
The news was later confirmed by Shafaq News website, which quoted an official security source as saying that nearly 40 Hummer vehicles entered the province.
Iraqi forces took over Kirkuk, one of the areas where Baghdad and Erbil dispute sovereignty, in mid October. This came in as response to a referendum Kurdistan Region held in September for independence from Iraq.