"They (Arab farmers) are demanding 50 million (Iraqi) dinars (IQD) ($34,000) as compensation for using my agricultural land," said Farhad Hamid, a Kurdish farmer in the village of Tapa Sawz in Tuz Khurmatu district, after a group of Arab farmers invaded his village twice in the past week, accompanied by witnesses, judges, police, and eyewitnesses.
According to Hamid, on both occasions, a survey was conducted on their lands as part of the follow-up on complaints filed by Arab farmers.
The farmers claimed in their complaints that they had agricultural contracts for these lands and were demanding compensation for the use of these lands by the Kurds over the past two decades. However, the Kurdish farmers insist that they own the lands and were forcibly displaced in the late 1980s.
The origin of the issue dates back four decades or more, when thousands of acres of agricultural land were seized from Kurdish and Turkmen farmers in various Iraqi provinces under the directives of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council during the Baath regime's rule chaired by late Saddam Hussein. These lands were then distributed to Arab farmers under contracts.
"In 1987, the Baath government destroyed our village and relocated us to a forced complex in the Amerli region. During that time, our lands were distributed to Arab farmers under contracts by a decision of the Revolutionary Command Council, and they continued to utilize them until the fall of the Baath regime in 2003."
After 2003, Kurdish farmers returned to their lands, but in 2017, when Iraqi forces regained control over the disputed territories, forcing the Peshmerga and Kurdish forces to withdraw, Arab farmers became more determined to reclaim their lands. They filed numerous complaints to recover the lands or receive compensation based on the Revolutionary Command Council's decisions.
"They are demanding 50 million dinars as compensation for using the lands for agricultural purposes for 20 years. The complaint was filed in the Tuz Khurmatu court and has not been resolved yet," Hamid stated.
In Tuz Khurmatu district, there are disputes over the ownership of 52 plots of agricultural land, each ranging in size from five to ten hectares, according to Ali Jalal, the Director of Agriculture in Tuz Khurmatu.
At least 40 farmers in the village of Tapa Sawz face problems related to land ownership, along with hundreds of other villages in the provinces that encompass disputed territories.
Hamid owns 15 hectares of agricultural land with unresolved ownership disputes, in addition to 100 hectares that belonged to his ancestors.
"Our situation has been like this since the events of October 16, 2017. We have clashed multiple times without resolving this issue."
The Iraqi Gazette published the law on returning real estate to its owners in issue 4814 dated February 17, 2025, which nullified all decisions of the late Iraqi regime regarding farmers' lands. Consequently, the law will take immediate effect.
Ali Jalal, the Director of Agriculture in Tuz Khurmatu District, informed KirkukNow that "the problem is highly sensitive and has led to clashes between the two parties on multiple occasions. Arab farmers claim that when they were displaced, their lands were utilized by Kurdish farmers, hence they are now seeking compensation."
"The Arabs assert they have agricultural contracts and the lands belong to them, while the Kurds argue that the lands are rightfully theirs and the Arabs exploited the situation for agriculture," Jalal stated.
Regarding the potential resolution of disputes with the new law, the Director of Tuz Agriculture mentioned, "The law has been enacted, and I believe it can resolve these disputes, but we have not yet received instructions on its implementation."
Hamid also expressed optimism about the law's issuance but remarked, "I believe the courts have not commenced working with the law because the complaints filed by Arab farmers are based on the Revolutionary Command Council's decisions."
Several parliament members informed KirkukNow that the new law signifies the annulment of all complaints registered in Iraqi courts concerning agricultural lands.
Jamal Jalal, another farmer from the village of Tapa Sawz, expressed, "We are tired. Every time they attempt to evict us from our lands and properties."
On January 21, 2025, the Iraqi parliament endorsed three controversial laws and legal amendments without any prior agreement or consensus between the Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and Turkmen, including the approval of a law to return confiscated properties to their owners.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Revolutionary Command Council (dissolved) issued a series of decisions regarding agricultural lands, especially in the disputed territories, which included distributing the lands to the ministries, which in turn redistributed them to farmers under contracts.
According to estimates by lawyers in property dispute cases and farmers themselves, no less than 75,000 hectares of agricultural lands were confiscated from their owners.
The return of seized lands to its owners was one of the most complicated issues in the multi-ethnic, oil-rich Kirkuk province and other disputed territories, pending for 20 years. This has led to several clashes between Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen farmers.
Yassin Mohammed, a member of the Salahaddin Provincial Council and Tuz Khurmatu's representative, told KirkukNow, "I am aware that disputes are resurfacing. Seven villages in Tuz Khurmatu are grappling with the same issue, where agricultural lands were seized from their original owners, Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs, and reassigned to other farmers under agricultural contracts."
Mohammed revealed that he had contacted the Director of Agriculture, and they were slated to convene on this matter.
"The solution is to disseminate the instructions for the law returning properties to their owners to all governorates for execution," he added.
"In addition to Kurds and Turkmen, Arabs will also benefit from the law, as some of them had their lands confiscated."
