Iraqi Turkmen Front

Iraqi Turkmen Front
Irak Türkmen Cephesi
الجبهة التركمانية العراقية
al-Jabha al-Turkmaniya al-Iraqiya
AbbreviationITF
PresidentHasan Turan
SpokespersonAli Sadık Mehdi
Honorary LeaderSaadeddin Arkej
Deputy PresidentHasan Turan
Founded24 April 1995
HeadquartersKirkuk
IdeologyRegionalism
Turkmen interests
Political positionRight-wing[citation needed]
ColoursBlue
Seats in the Council of Representatives of Iraq:
1 / 328
Party flag

The Iraqi Turkmen Front[a] (abbreviated as ITF) is a political movement representing the Iraqi Turkmen people. It was founded on April 5, 1995 as a coalition of several Turkmen parties operating within the framework of Iraq's unity. The party aims for the Turkmen community to have greater political involvement, increased recognition and more rights.[1]

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the party has contested control of Kirkuk and other areas of northern Iraq, claiming that Kirkuk belongs to the Turkmen people.[2][3] The ITF claims a region named Turkmeneli (literally meaning the "land of the Turkmens"[4]) as the homeland of the Iraqi Turkmen. Turkmeneli includes within its boundaries Kirkuk, Tal Afar, Erbil, Mandali, Mosul and Tuz Khurmatu.[5][4] The Iraqi Army and Peshmerga have not allowed them to form their militia and take control of the areas where they live.[6]

The party played an active role in the fight against the Islamic State to defend the region of Turkmeneli (especially around Kirkuk) and the Iraqi Turkmen population from the genocide that ISIS committed against Iraqi Turkmen.[7]


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  1. ^ The Iraqi Turkmen Front. Contemporain Co-éditions. Presses de l’Ifpo. 13 February 2013. pp. 313–328. ISBN 9782351592618. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Raber Tal’at Jawhar (13 February 2013). The Iraqi Turkmen Front. Presses de l’Ifpo. ISBN 9782351592618. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  3. ^ Ignatius, David (13 February 2015). "In Iraq, Kirkuk remains a question mark". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ a b Anderson & Stansfield 2009, 57.
  5. ^ Anderson & Stansfield 2009, 16.
  6. ^ "Iraq's Turkmen call for arms to join anti-ISIS war". Rudaw.
  7. ^ "Turkmens fight besides Iraqi army for Turkmen settlements". TRT Avaz. 13 March 2015. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

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