Tensions high after Hawija protest crackdown

KIRKUK - The Kirkuk provincial council is encouraging security forces and protesters to calm the tension sparked by demonstrations and mass arrests over the weekend in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk city.

"The provincial council calls on all parties, whether military commanders in the region or the people's committees for the protests… not to be drawn into plots aimed at tearing the unity of the Iraqi society and social peace in this province," the council said in a statement.