…The former Iraqi president forced about 250,000 Kurdish residents to give up their homes to Arabs in the 1970s, to “Arabize” the city and the region’s oil industry. U.S. and Iraqi officials estimate that nearly all those Kurds have returned to Kirkuk, capital of Al Tamim province, along with as many as 100,000 newcomers.

Kirkuk, with a population of about 1 million, has long been home to a mix of Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs, both Shiite and Sunni Muslims, and a smattering of Christians.

Last week, Turkmen leaders held discussions with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq’s most influential Shiite leader, to push for greater representation in Kirkuk’s government. But it is the majority Kurds who have taken the strongest action to claim the city as their own.
latimes.com

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