ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday ordered the formation of a high-level committee to probe the attack on Kirkuk farmers by the Iraqi army forces.

Sudani “instructed the Joint Operations Command to form a high-level investigative committee representing all parties to investigate all the circumstances of this incident,” according to a statement by Iraq’s security media cell.

Tensions erupted on Monday morning after Iraqi forces prevented farmers in northern Kirkuk’s Sargaran subdistrict from entering and cultivating their lands.

The escalation came despite the recent passage of a law in the Iraqi parliament to return real estate properties confiscated under the previous Ba’ath regime to original Kurdish and Turkmen owners in areas that were subjected to the Arabization process.

The land restitution law, ratified by the Iraqi presidency last week, seeks to address property disputes stemming from resolutions enacted during the Ba’ath regime’s Revolutionary Command Council era. The regime transferred the ownership of hundreds of Kurdish and Turkmen properties in Kirkuk to the defense ministry and the municipality starting from the 1970s.

Sudani also instructed the Iraqi Deputy Justice Minister to visit Kirkuk and take "necessary measures" regarding the lands in question.

Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament on Tuesday began collecting signatures to hold an irregular and urgent parliamentary session and invite Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet al-Abasi to discuss the attacks on Kirkuk farmers, Najwa Kakayi, a Kurdish MP in the Iraqi parliament told The New Region.

As of the time of this writing, a meeting between Kirkuk’s governor and the Iraqi Ministry of Justice addressing the confrontation has started and is in progress.

The altercations were quickly condemned by Kurdish officials, including President Masoud Barzani, who called the incidence a “chauvinistic” act, and the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s office who criticized the act, calling it “contrary to the constitution,”.

Following the confrontation, Kurdish Peshmerga on Monday advanced to the outmost position within the forces’ command, bordering Kirkuk province, in preparation for any further escalations.

Commander of the Peshmerga Forces’ Pirde command Nouri Hama Ali confirmed to The New Region Monday night that their troops were put in a state of alert and were awaiting orders.

The New Region has learned that the Iraqi army has since withdrawn from the areas and that the farmers have called off their sit-in protests, granting Baghdad 48 hours to permanently resolve the issue.

Iraqi army forces have repeatedly prevented Kirkuk’s farmers from entering the areas in recent years, stating that the lands belong to the state.