Authorities on Sunday lifted a curfew in the northern multi-ethnic Iraqi city of Kirkuk that was imposed after deadly protests on Saturday. Four protesters were shot dead and more than a dozen injured in clashes between ethnic groups that erupted after days of tension, security forces and police said.

At the center of the dispute is a building in Kirkuk that was once the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), but served as a base for the Iraqi army since 2017.

The central government plans to return this building to the KDP as a show of goodwill, but Arab and Turkmen opponents are against the move and set up a protest camp in front of the building last week.

What happened in Kirkuk?

The violence was triggered when a group of Kurdish demonstrators approached the camp on Saturday, police said. Warning shots were fired to force the Kurdish protesters to disperse, as police forces were deployed to act as a buffer and keep the rival groups apart.

Security officials and police in the city say they were investigating the circumstances of the deaths, including who opened fire. People from both protest groups were wounded as stones were thrown and metal bars used to attack, Kirkuk police said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani ordered a curfew in the city and "extensive security operations in the areas affected by the riots." He also called on "political parties, social organizations, and community leaders to play their part in preventing strife and preserving security, stability, and order."

Ethnic tensions in northern Iraq

Kirkuk has historically been disputed between the federal government in Baghdad and authorities in the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north.

In 2014, the KDP and the peshmerga, the security forces of the Kurdistan region, took control of the Kirkuk region. However, federal troops expelled them in autumn 2017 following an abortive referendum on Kurdish independence.

Since Sudani took power last year, he has worked to improve relations between his government and the KDP. But Arab residents and minority groups who say they suffered under Kurdish rule have protested the KDP's return.

dh/msh (AFP, Reuters, dpa)