Farmer Locked Out of Home by Expanding Military Perimeter in Northern Kirkuk

KIRKUK — A local farmer says his house and orchard have been cut off by a concrete security fence erected by the Iraqi army north of Kirkuk, as part of an ongoing expansion of a military facility that has raised concerns among residents and officials.

“I returned to my land after the fall of the former regime and built my home on our ancestral property. We have a title deed that dates back to 1935,” said Ibrahim Khalil, the homeowner. “After I built and moved in, the Kirkuk Operations Command filed a lawsuit against us, accusing us of seizing land belonging to the Ministry of Defense.”

Khalil told 964media that he was summoned to the Kirkuk court and released on bail of 3 million dinars. “Until now, my legal case remains open. They built a concrete fence around my house, and I haven’t been able to enter it. There are 21 lawsuits against people in the area in similar cases,” he said.

The military has cited security concerns for the expansion and has proposed solutions. “This house is near one of the army’s bases, so from a security standpoint, they have the right to protect their perimeter,” said Abdullah Mir Weiss, a member of the Kirkuk governorate council. “The army built a concrete barrier to secure their bases. Because the house was close, it was included within the fence.”

He added that the Kirkuk administration intervened and three options were presented by the operations command: rent the house, buy it, or formally include it within the perimeter. “The homeowner refused all options. We are currently working to find a permanent solution,” Mir Weiss said.

Residents remain skeptical of the military’s intentions, questioning the scale of the land being absorbed. “The security base here used to be a small post under Ali Hassan al-Majid, but now it’s expanded over hundreds of dunams,” said Abdullah Mohammed, a local from the village. “There are ongoing problems between the army and the residents of Tobzawa and the Sargaran area. The army interferes in our affairs, despite the existence of a land restitution law published in the Iraqi Gazette. But the army has not complied with it so far.”

Passed by Iraq’s Parliament on October 2, 2024, the Property Restitution Law aims to reverse a series of land confiscations carried out under Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime, particularly between 1975 and 1979. The law targets roughly 32,000 acres of agricultural land in Kirkuk governorate that were seized from Kurdish and Turkmen farmers and reallocated to Arab settlers under long-term lease contracts, some lasting up to 50 years. Many of these lands, initially taken for government projects by ministries such as defense and finance, remain undeveloped. The legislation seeks to return unused lands to their original owners and compensate those whose property was used by the state.

During the Baath era, thousands of Kurdish families were forcibly displaced from Kirkuk and relocated to northern governorates, while Arab families were resettled on their lands. After 2003, many Kurds returned, but disputes over land ownership remained unresolved.

Although many Arab settlers were compensated and repatriated, some returned after federal forces took control of Kirkuk in 2017 and renewed claims to the land, often with support from the military. This is particularly evident in areas like Palkana and Sargaran, where Kurdish farmers say they are unable to harvest their crops.

The law has faced opposition from Arab lawmakers who argue it threatens the livelihood of families who have lived and worked on the land for decades.