ERBIL - The federal government has ordered the dismissal of a Kurdish official in the disputed province of Kirkuk, a source revealed on Monday.

Head of Directorate for Internal Affairs in Kirkuk, Yadgar Shkwr, was removed from his post on Monday by the central government for unclarified reasons, a source told Kurdistan 24 on condition of anonymity.

The source pointed out that the Kurdish official was replaced by someone else who came into the Kurdish director's office on Monday with an official order from Baghdad.

He noted that the prolonged removal of Kurdish officials in Kirkuk is to weaken the presence of the Kurds in the province, calling for an end to these "violations" against the Kurds.

Tens of Kurdish officials have been removed from the office since the October 2017 military incursion when the Iraqi forces and pro-Iranian Hashd al-Shaabi militias overran the disputed Kurdish territories.

Bas News