“It is not clear it is what kind of force,” he said.

“The Kurdistan Region Presidency is ready to meet with the political parties about the Kurdistan Region’s situation and to create unity,” he added.

The Peshmerga has responded by moving units affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) within Erbil’s Dibagah sub-district in recent days, including near the Khurmala oilfield and Jastan and Darband villages.

Neither the Peshmerga ministry nor the Iraqi Security Forces have commented so far.

No clashes have been reported.

“The arrival of the Iraqi government forces is not normal,” Kirmanj Abdulla, head of the KDP’s Branch 23 in Qarachough sub-district Kirmanj Abdulla, told the party’s official media outlet.

“If they could, they will Arabize all the villages in the area,” he added, referencing the notorious campaign by the former Iraqi regime of displacing ethnic Kurds and replacing them with Arab settlers.

Reporter's code: 50101