The Iraqi presidency office, in a report, has called for the dispatch of more troops to Daquq district, south of the disputed multi-ethnic province of Kirkuk; meanwhile, it called for the formation of a joint force made up of Arab, Kurd and Turkmen recruits to undertake security responsibilities in the district.
The report came following a recent visit to Daquq by a delegation from the presidency office led by deputy head of the office Aziz Majid and included Hatam Abu Risha, advisor to the Iraqi president for military affairs. The visit was aimed to discuss the security dossier of the area.
“The president is now directly engaged in serious efforts to resolve the issues of Daquq, on top of them the restoration of stability. For this purpose, we prepared a report after meeting with tribal leaders and local officials,” Aziz Majid told KirkukNow.
He added that they believe “more troops are needed to be deployed to ensure that the area would be controlled.”
More troops are needed to be deployed in the area
The report also stressed that security forces should be stationed in positions which were manned by the Kurdish Peshmarga forces before they withdrew following the October 16, 2017 events, indicating that the proposal was approved following a meeting with military commanders.
In the meantime, the presidency office delegation called for a joint force comprised of the different components of Kirkuk to be formed to undertake the security dossier in Daquq.
Daquq has witnessed a surge in attacks blamed on remnants of the Islamic State (IS) group. The most recent attack targeted Zain al-Abidin village in which least 7 people were killed and 10 others injured.
Daquq was a frontline during the war against the Islamic State (IS) group. After the Kurdish Peshmarga forces withdrew from the area on October 16, 2017, security responsibilities fell in the hands of Iraqi federal forces.
