According to a Peshmerga commander, a Peshmerga force was sent to the area near Palkana village in Kirkuk province on Saturday, where the day before, Arab settlers had attacked Kurdish villagers.

The attack followed a quarrel between two groups of local Kurds and Arabs, resulting in three people being injured. The Iraqi army is accused of supporting the attackers, according to Kurdish villagers.

The Peshmerga commander stated that they are waiting for an order from the ministry to enter the village and that there will be no confrontation with the army.

A Kurdish resident of Palkana expressed gratitude for the Peshmerga support, stating that they had been suffering for five years since the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces from Kirkuk in late 2017 following an independence referendum.

The Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the attack, saying that it was an attempt to damage the positive atmosphere being created for peace and stability in the region.

Similar attacks by Arab settlers on Kurdish villagers have taken place several times since 2017, and the dispute is related to land ownership and historical Arabization policies in the region.