Iraq Retracts Decision to Curb Use of Turkmen Language

Date: 03 March 2023 - 21:45

News ID: ۱۱۲۹۹۱

BAGHDAD (Anadolu) – Iraq has retracted its decision to limit the use of the Turkmen language in its northern Kirkuk province, local media has reported. Iraq’s Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani has directed authorities to ensure that Turkmen remains part of the languages used for official correspondence in Kirkuk, along with Arabic and Kurdish, according to state news agency INA. A day earlier, the government moved to bar Turkmen from the list of official languages in Kirkuk, a region with a sizeable ethnic Turkmen population dating to the Ottoman era. The decision drew immediate backlash from Kirkuk’s Turkmen community, with Turkmen leaders rejecting it as unconstitutional and unacceptable.