ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kirkuk’s provincial council on Thursday formed a committee to settle disputes relating to the distribution of administrative posts, following a four-day demonstration by Turkmen protesters in Pirde (Altun Kupri) against a recent appointment of a local official.

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.

The demonstrations continued Thursday as the protesters blocked traffic on the key highway again and reiterated their demands, leading to altercations with Iraqi security forces.

In response to the protests, Kirkuk provincial council chief Mohammed al-Hafidh ordered the formation of a high committee 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.

Shortly after the announcement, the protesters called off their demonstrations.

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.