HALABJA, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Turkey’s foreign ministry on Friday voiced support for the Turkmen community in Kirkuk after protests broke out over the appointment of a Kurdish director for Pirde’s (Altun Kupri) municipality.

“The appointment of a non-Turkmen director to the Altun Kupri municipality, where the Turkmen population is dense, has understandably caused unease and disappointment among the Turkmen community,” read a statement posted by Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli on X.

“It is our fundamental expectation that our Turkmen kin are duly represented within Iraq’s political and state structures. This matter is particularly significant in Kirkuk, especially in the context of appointments and assignments to be made in all public institutions, starting with the provincial council,” the statement noted.

Since Monday, supporters of the Iraqi Turkmen Front have been protesting the appointment of a Kurdish municipality director for the disputed but historically Turkmen-majority town. The protesters stormed the municipality building and temporarily blocked the Kirkuk-Erbil road, demanding the post be given to a Turkmen.

In response to the protests, Kirkuk provincial council chief Mohammed al-Hafidh ordered the formation of a high committee on Thursday to review the balance in distributing administrative posts in the oil-rich province. The committee consists of three Kurdish, two Turkmen, two Arab, and one Christian members of the council.

Kirkuk, serving as a small model of Iraq’s diversity, “is of key importance for the peace and stability of all of Iraq. In this context, developments in Kirkuk are closely and sensitively followed by our country,” Keceli added.

Kirkuk has long been a point of contention between authorities in Erbil and Baghdad, with both governments laying claim to the oil-rich province. The Kurds lost several key administrative positions in Kirkuk after Iraqi forces seized control of the province following the events of October 16, 2017.

Pirde, a multi-ethnic town on the road between Kirkuk and Erbil, is made up of a Turkmen majority and a Kurdish and Arab minority. The town was one of the areas subjected to the Baath regime’s Arabization process.