Iraq issues arrest warrant after Kurdish vice president says Kirkuk is 'occupied'
Kurdish residents in Kirkuk are still reeling from the takeover of the city by Iraqi forces, with many feeling betrayed by the two leading Iraqi Kurdish political parties.
More than 100,000 Kurds have fled Kirkuk since Monday's takeover of the province.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the UN has received allegations that armed groups burned some 150 houses in Tuz Khurmatu, south of Kirkuk on Oct. 16-17, and that houses belonging to Kurdish families and officials of Kurdish political parties were destroyed by explosives.
He said the UN had noted Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's acknowledgment of incidents by what he called "extremist elements from both sides" and his decision to send the army to restore order in Tuz Khurumatu.
Kurds make up two-thirds of Kirkuk's population of 800,000, with 25 percent Turkmen and the rest Arab Muslims and Christians.