ANKARA - Turkish Daily News

Iraq 's newly-appointed ambassador to Turkey played down concerns yesterday over ethnic tension in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and said the situation in the northern Iraqi city was no different from any other part of Iraq , warning against exaggerated assessments.

Ambassador Sabah Jameil Umran Essa al-Dulaimi also said migration of Kurds to the ethnically-mixed city was a rightful move, as they were returning to houses and lands they were deported from in the past, during the rule of Saddam Hussein.

"In this sense, everything is normal," al-Dulaimi said to a group of journalists yesterday and added that the return was not aimed at provoking other communities living in the city, such as Arabs and Turkmens.

Tens of thousands of Kurds have returned to Kirkuk to "reclaim" what they say had been forcefully taken from them during Saddam Hussein's Arabization campaign. Turkey views the move with suspicion and Turkish leaders have repeatedly warned against attempts to change the demographic composition of the city ahead of general elections in the country slated for late January.

Kirkuk , alongside with the capital Baghdad , have a special status under the interim constitution of Iraq . Their status is to be addressed in Iraq 's new constitution that will be drafted by Iraq 's new parliament.

U.S. military officials in the region have warned that tension in Kirkuk , which sits atop 6 percent of world's known oil reserves, was high but al-Dulaimi said the situation in the city was normal.

"If you ask me as an Iraqi, Kirkuk is relatively a very safe city and in a normal situation, compared to other cities, such as Fallujah or Baquba," the ambassador said.

Source: TDN
Added by: Hiwa Afandi