Hundreds of Kurdish families are fleeing a town in northern Iraq after seven Kurds were gunned down recently. Local officials said the Kurds are fleeing because they fear ethnic cleansing, Reuters reported.
The seven Kurds were killed mainly in the Arab town Hawija, most of them in crowded streets and in broad daylight.
A Kirkouk city council member estimated that the number of those who have fled is about 3,000 people. Most of them have fled to Kirkouk which is about 250 kilometers, or 160 miles, north of Baghdad.
Kurds, Turkmen and Arab groups have clashed several times in the Kirkouk area since the ousting of Saddam Hussein’s regime in April 2003, as each group is vying for power in this region. Tensions have been high lately with the approaching elections in Iraq.