A member of the Kurdish security forces patrols the outskirts of Kirkuk. Credit:Reuters The collapse of the Iraqi Army in the country’s north, and along with it any semblance of influence the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had in the region, provided Kurdish forces with a unique opportunity. Within hours of Iraqi troops abandoning their posts, the Kurdish Peshmerga had taken control of Kirkuk – long viewed as the historic capital of Kurdistan. There was no chance they would let the city that is held so dear in the hearts of Kurds fall to Islamic militants. But as Kurds celebrated reclaiming Kirkuk, and with it the vast oil deposits that could provide a solid economic foundation for a future independent state, the city’s civil and military leaders were more circumspect. No one wanted to appear triumphant and everyone Fairfax Media spoke to was acutely aware of the need to maintain the support of the other ethnic and religious groups living in the region – Christians, Arabs and Turkmen.

Kirkuk’s Governor Najmadin Karim. Credit:Ruth Pollard Generals representing the Peshmerga, police and other security forces met at the Kirkuk headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the PUK, on Saturday to co-ordinate the next stage of their security response in the absence of any contribution from Baghdad. They are not just concerned about the threat from ISIL and the other Sunni militants fighting with them, but the many local citizens who are now heavily armed with the weapons the Iraqi soldiers left behind. An abandoned Iraqi military vehicle outside Kirkuk. Credit:Ruth Pollard “The security forces are doing their jobs as normal, administrative-wise all the public services are working as usual,” Aso Mamend, the chief of the PUK Centre in Kirkuk and a member of the party’s political bureau, told Fairfax Media. “But many guns fell into the hands of people after the Iraqi Army left and there is no doubt this is one of our biggest problems,” he said.

And while most of Kirkuk is under Peshmerga control, several Sunni Arab towns in the south-west are under the control of ISIL, including the village of Hawija. Brigadier Helgurd Hikmet Mela Ali, spokesman for the Kurdistan regional government's Peshmerga Ministry. Credit:Ruth Pollard “We have the capacity to flush them out but they are in Arab towns and we do not want to risk civilian lives in these areas and we do not want to start an ethnic war – we are just here to defend our borders and protect people,” Mr Mamend said. As Fairfax Media travelled through Kirkuk province, there were noticeable troop movements on the roads as the Kurdish forces continually reinforced their front and back lines against any possible ISIL attacks. But throughout the city and the countryside, despite the upheaval of recent days, most people seemed to be getting on with lives and the trouble appeared to be contained to pockets around outlying villages.

Kurds have controlled Kirkuk twice before – in 1991 and 2003 – and each time they have been convinced by Western powers to hand back control to Iraq in order to preserve the state. Not this time, many Kurdish officials told Fairfax Media. “The Kurdish economy is stronger, our diplomatic efforts abroad are better and the Kurdish standing in the international community is now quite strong – we will not take a step back,” Mr Mamend said. In a heavily fortified compound surrounded by concrete blast walls, Kirkuk’s Governor Najmadin Karim, an American neurosurgeon who returned to Kirkuk in 2010 to contribute to his home-town in local politics, is in a more diplomatic mood, urging a “wait and see” approach to Kirkuk’s future. In the house that once belonged to General Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the cousin of Saddam Hussein who was nicknamed “Chemical Ali” for ordering chemical-gas attacks on Kurdish civilians, Dr Karim was quick to point out that Kirkuk’s official status had not changed since Kurdish forces took over late last week.

“We have to wait and see what happens in Baghdad and how they deal with this new situation where several provinces have fallen out of control of the government. “If everything falls apart and Iraq becomes three different confederate regions with part of Kirkuk joining the Sunni Arab areas, then obviously the choice will be for Kirkuk to join the Kurdistan region.” Before that there would have to be a referendum, Dr Karim said, which would help Kurdistan gain greater international recognition and ensure there was support from all religious and ethnic groups in Kirkuk for the move. “Kirkuk has always been part of Kurdistan historically – that was not different a week ago until now – every Kurd wants to have an independent state but that all is connected with what happens with the rest of Iraq.” It should be a priority, he said, for the international community to step in to help stop ISIL’s advance in both Iraq and Syria.

“I think the international community has to realise that ISIL is a danger to everybody, not just to Iraq and not just to Syria,” he said. “They have to co-operate and help those who are fighting these evil forces” rather than relying on an out-dated political model as a guide. But ISIL is not alone, he warned. The main force behind the Sunni insurgents who stormed Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul last Tuesday was undoubtedly made up of the remnants of the Baath Party. “They are co-operating with each other for now but they may end up fighting each other,” he said. Kurds, believed to number around 30 million, are spread between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, and have long pushed for a state of their own. There are 4 million in Iraq and since the fall of Saddam Hussein they have lived in semi-autonomous Kurdistan alongside smaller populations of Turkmen, Christians and Arabs.

After suffering years of repression under Saddam, where they endured military strikes and chemical weapons attacks, the Kurds now live in their relatively peaceful self-governed region, in stark contrast to the rest of the troubled country. But there is tension between Baghdad and Kurdistan, which reached a peak last month over the Kurdish Regional Government’s decision to start exporting oil on its own through a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. And the Kirkuk oil production has dropped from 500,000 barrels per day to around 250,000 barrels per day, mostly because of militant attacks on one of its key pipelines, Dr Karim said. Kirkuk’s oil wealth and its economic stability puts it in a better position to bargain with the neighbouring countries, Dr Karim said: “We can make economic deals that are favourable to both sides but we are not there yet.” Other officials were less cautions. Brigadier Helgurd Hikmet Mela Ali, spokesman for the Kurdistan regional government's Peshmerga ministry based in Erbil, said there was “no way” the Kurds will return Kirkuk to Iraq this time.

“We will not give Kirkuk again to someone who cannot look after it,” he insisted. “We will not give it to someone who throws away their military uniform and runs away in a tracksuit – Kirkuk needs people who, for the sake of the city, are willing to shed their blood to look after it.” Instead, he expects Kirkuk residents to vote in a referendum on joining semi-autonomous Kurdistan, but was unable to comment on the timing of such a vote. Quietly scathing of the performance of the Maliki government, which not only failed to include all elements of Iraqi society in its administration but actively pushed them out, Brigadier Hikmet said Kurdistan would focus on building an inclusive society. “We will not be doing as Maliki is doing,” he said. “We will give people full rights – Kurds, Christians, Arabs and Turkmen will take part in all decision making and will be treated equally.” Out at the Peshmerga base – which just days ago was run by Iraqi Army troops – the line from the military command was “defend and protect”.

“We are here to create a buffer zone for the people of Kirkuk, for all people, not only Kurdish but Arabic, Christian and Turkmen,” says Colonel Fadel of the Brigade One infantry unit. “Our goal is to provide security for the people behind us who are fearful of ISIL … we do not want any radical groups to create an Islamic state like the one in Mosul right now.” It is unclear whether the majority of non-Kurdish residents of Kurdistan feel as confident about their rights as the Kurdish officials do. And analysts say with Iraq’s borders already increasingly unstable under the ongoing ISIL assault, any real push for Kurdish statehood will further inflame tensions in a region already crippled with sectarian violence.