Raucous Celebrations in Kirkuk at Kurd as President; 5 Dead
The odd rotating presidency of the Interim Governing Council, whereby 9 of the 25 members take turns for one month each as leaders of the country, has now fallen on Jalal Talabani, 69. The leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is popular in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan, starting in Sulaimaniya, and controls about 25,000 paramilitary fighters (peshmerga).
Indeed, the celebratory gunfire in Kirkuk was so extensive that 5 people are said to have been killed by it.
AFP reported, ““This is a historical day in the lives of the Kurds who have been seeking hard to achieve their dream to rule Iraq and let their voice be heard in the world,” said businessman Serdal Sader. Hiwa Fateh Ahmad, 46, called on Talabani “to seek to allow the Kurds to regain their due rights and grant them compensation for the years of repression and killings.”