A decision by Kirkuk provincial council, north of Iraq, to raise the Kurdish flag above state buildings predicts the war-torn Arab country will enter a new phase of conflict once the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) is ousted from Mosul. On March 29th, 26 members of Kirkuk provincial council, all of them Kurds, voted for merging their city with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The remaining 14 members from the Arab and Turkmen constituents boycotted the vote. Kurdish leaders also called upon Kurdistan government to annex areas that Peshmerga units (Kurdish forces) retook from IS. Such moves that imply the recession of the oil-rich province from the Iraqi central government threatens the country's territorial integrity and paves the way for more blood. The Iraqi parliament condemned the move, stressing that the oil of Kirkuk is owned by all Iraqis, and must be distributed equally to all provinces in accordance with Article 11 of the Iraqi Constitution. The Kurdish parliamentary blocs withdrew from the session. On Saturday, Head of Kirkuk Provincial council, Rebwar Talbani, slammed the parliament's rejection of raising the Kurdish flag. He confirmed he would not abide by any decision from the parliament. Turkmen leaders rejected the move describing it as "unconstitutional" as Kirkuk is not a part of Kurdistan region. According to the Iraqi constitution, Kirkuk is a disputed area between the central government and the Kurdistan region. However, Kurdish forces, known as Peshmerga, occupied large swathes of the province after the withdrawal of Iraqi forces and fall to IS in 2014. Peshmerga forces fought fierce battles against IS militants to recapture most districts of Kirkuk. This comes amid attempts to hold a referendum on the independence of the Kurdistan region and the annexation of Kirkuk province. During a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in late March in Erbil, President of the Kurdistan region, Masoud Barzani announced an imminent referendum on the province's independence would be held. Barzani stressed the necessity of exerting more efforts to achieve independence of the Kurdistan region and sovereignty of the Kurdish people. Iraqi analysts say the motion is an indicator of a new era of violence in Iraq after the fall of IS. The Iraqi army supported by the International Coalition forces, is currently besieging Mosul's right bank, the last stronghold for the terror group in Iraq. Barzani previously said the new era would witness the beginning of partition of Iraq, as happened in countries that were divided under ethnic and religious conflicts.
