Iraq's melting pot of Kirkuk struggles with ethnic cohesion

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, consecutive governments have failed to solve the ethnic crisis in the city of Kirkuk, and last year's failed northern Iraq independence referendum has not improved the situation.

Kirkuk’s population is a mix of Turkmen, Kurd and Arab communities. (March 23, 2018)
TRTWorld

Kirkuk’s population is a mix of Turkmen, Kurd and Arab communities. (March 23, 2018)

It has been 15 years since the US invaded Iraq. During the rule of Saddam Hussein, the Baath party expelled hundreds of thousands of non-Arabs from their traditional lands. 

In Kirkuk, Kurds, Turkmens and Assyrians came under constant pressure to renounce their ethnicity and register as Arabs. 

But even though Saddam was ousted from power, consecutive governments have been unable to fix the ethnic problem.

TRT World's Soraya Lennie reports.

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