Kurdistan Regional Government President Massud Barzani said Maliki’s measure of stationing its military forces under the pretext of the ‘Dijla (Tigris) Operations Command’ in Kirkuk is illegal, Al Sharqiya TV reported.
“I want to assure the Iraqi people in general and the Kurdish people specifically that after consulting with the President and other related parties, we will seriously have a position against these illegal measures and also take necessary actions to reject any policy, action and decision aimed at imposing an illegal condition on the separated regions of Kurdistan,” Barzani said.
Al Sharqiya TV aired breaking news on Saturday on the KRG President’s statement, saying Barzani has called on Pishmarga forces to be ready to defend Kurdistan.
“We don’t like quarrels, however we are ready for any possibility against provocations and we will firmly respond to any aggression by the enemy against the Kurdistan region,” Barzani added.
But Kirkuk province’s governor Najim al-Din Omar Karim refused to cooperate with the new command.
“I am the head of the (provincial) security committee, which includes commanders of the police, intelligence agencies, Pishmarga, and the 12th brigade of the Iraqi army — we already have major cooperation, we don’t need a new operations command,” he said.
“The Iraqi army must not intervene, we cannot accept the imposition of martial law on us. The Iraqi Army must stay in the barracks and work for security at the border.”