Iraqi Army Peshmerga 3,000+ government fighters and PMU forces Main phase Later phase Major insurgent attacks Foreign interventions IS genocide of minorities IS war crimes Timeline The 2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, also known as the Kirkuk crisis,[19][20] was a conflict in which the Iraqi government retook disputed territories in Iraq which had been held by the Peshmerga since ISIL's Northern Iraq offensive in 2014.

[26] The vote was heavily opposed by non-Kurdish residents of the territories who had been accusing the Kurdistan Regional Government for years of discriminatory treatment and forced Kurdification of their areas including demolition of entire settlements, gerry-mandering and vote-rigging.

This led the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi to demand that the referendum result be cancelled and called on the KRG to initiate dialogue in the framework of the constitution.

[36] The initial assault came as a surprise given the repeated assurances by the Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider Al Abadi, that there would be no offensive against the region despite the build of Iraqi troops on its borders.

[40] By mid-day the KRG appointed mayor of Kirkuk Najmiddin Karim had fled the city and Iraqi counter terrorism forces were seen patrolling the streets having secured the office of the mayoralty and K9 air base.

[41] Chaos erupted among the ranks of the Peshmerga as news of the defeat sent shock waves through the region, mutual allegations of betrayal were made among leaders of the PUK and KDP.

[42] After the victory in Kirkuk, Iraqi central government forces launched frontal assaults, pincer movements and flanking manoeuvres advancing east towards Tuz Khurmatu and Jalawla and north towards Makhmur and the Mosul dam.

[43] By the end of the conflict, the central government had captured a fifth of the land mass previously administered by the region and was in full control of the disputed territories.

[44] The offensive was considered a disastrous defeat in the Kurdish region and sent the price of oil internationally into a sharp spike, however these shortly stabilised as a result of the quick victory of the Iraqi forces.

[47] On 17 October 2017, The Iraqi advance continued, with further gains including Khanaqin near the Iranian border, as well as Jalawla, Bashiqa, and Sinjar towards Syria.

[48] A statement from the Iraqi military on 18 October 2017, confirmed that the Mosul dam and other previously Kurdish-held territories in Nineveh province had been taken from the Peshmerga.

[51] The next day, Hemin Hawrami, a senior assistant to KRG President Masoud Barzani, said in a post on Twitter that 57,000 families from Kirkuk were in need of "immediate assistance" after arriving in various parts of Iraqi Kurdistan and taking shelter in unfinished housing units, having fled from "violence, looting and crimes" perpetrated by the Iranian-trained and largely Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces.

[53] The United Nations released a statement saying it was concerned about reports of violence and the forced displacement of Kurdish civilians,[54] and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

[56][52][55] The UN noted PM Haider al-Abadi's acknowledgement of incidents in Tuz Khurmatu, caused by what he described as extremist elements from both sides and his decision to send the Iraqi army to restore order in Tuz Khurmatu, as well as the requests of the political and security leaderships of the country for federal and local security forces to act in full respect for law and order and protect civilians and political leaders.

A group of about 150 to 200 unarmed youth carrying Kurdistan flags were protesting, demanding that Iraqi forces leave the city, Col. Azad Isa, Khanaqin's police chief, told Rudaw Kurdish Network.

[64] This was considered to be the first significant battle in which the Peshmerga put up a heavy resistance, whereas in other disputed areas they withdrew after the arrival of Iraqi forces.

"[74] On 26 October 2017 at 06:00 hrs, Iraqi federal police and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) began a four-pronged assault on Peshmerga positions in Zummar; from Bardiya and Hamad Agha towards Ain Ouais, from Mosharaf towards Sufaya, and from Rabia towards Mahmoudiya.

[75] The Kurdistan Security Council claimed that Peshmerga had destroyed three tanks, five US-supplied Humvees and one Badger and repelled the attempts of the Iraqi forces to retake Faysh Khabur.

[76] However, Iraqi and PMU forces managed to retake two villages, Jazronia & Mahmoudiya, as they attempted to advance towards the town of Faysh Khabur, near the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish border triangle.

[85] Kurdistan24 posted footage of the fighting[86] and unverified graphic videos showed dead bodies of the Turkmen PMU stationed in Tuz Khurmatu.

Afrasiaw Kamil Waisi, Kirkuk police spokesperson stated that there was no casualties,[88] however other Kurdish sources claimed many Iraqi troops were killed and wounded.

[92] Kurdish sources have complained of a perceived Arabisation campaign undertaken by the Iraqi government in critical places such as Kirkuk, Tuz Khurmatu and Khanaqin, and warned of a possible demographic change.

"[100] Anadolu News Agency meanwhile reported that Turkish and Iraqi forces had moved towards the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing that morning.

The Prime Minister of Turkey Binali Yıldırım told members of his Justice and Development Party in parliament that the border gate had been "handed over to the central government".

[106] Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan Nechirvan Barzani stated on 6 November that the KRG would hand over the oil revenue in exchange for the central government agreeing to pay the customary 17% share of the federal budget.

[109] Haider al-Abadi stated on 14 November that he would act soon over border areas under Kurdish control, but predicted Iraqi forces would regain them without violence.