Tensions spill over in Iraq's Kirkuk as rivals vie for influence and property ahead of local election

Four people were killed in Kirkuk on 2 September, as Arab and Turkmen protestors tried to stop the Kurdistan Democratic Party from reclaiming its old headquarters building, in violent clashes that point to more trouble ahead in the sensitive city and wider Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Tensions could ratchet up further as two thorny anniversaries approach, before provincial elections scheduled for 18 December – unless the federal and Kurdish authorities find a way to better manage the situation.