Chaos and joy in Kirkuk

Chaos and joy in Kirkuk

Despite the breakdown of law and order the mood is one of joy

There has been jubilation and chaos on the streets of Kirkuk after the northern Iraqi city fell to Kurdish militia, backed by American troops.

In scenes reminiscent of the uprising in Baghdad on Wednesday people have torn down a huge statue of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the city's central square and burned a giant portrait of him.

The BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson, who is in Kirkuk, said the city resounded to the noise of gunshots, and reeked of smoke from smouldering government buildings and the symbols of Saddam Hussein's control.

BBC correspondent Dumeetha Luthra is also there and she reported seeing truckload upon truckload of Kurdish fighters pouring into the city, along with US special forces.

Party headquarters attacked

Kurdish fighters told her there were some Baath Party members left in the city putting up resistance, but no Iraqi soldiers remained.

Throughout the approach to the city delighted crowds turned out to cheer

Our correspondent said it is not clear who is in control of the city and that local residents have been looting the shops - making off with goods, including fridges and rolls of carpet, in some cases by the truckload.

The city's Baath Party headquarters have been utterly vandalised.

The pall of smoke caused by the vandals that hangs over the city is joined by smoke from one of the nearest oil wells, which has apparently been torched.

Another oil well further off is burning and the city itself is surrounded by trenches of oil, dug to deter attackers.

Celebratory mood

But our correspondent said that despite the chaos the mood is one of joy, with residents waving and cheering or driving around in cars, triumphantly sounding their horns.

People are looting anything they can lay their hands on

People are on the streets chanting "long live America, long live American soldiers, long live the Kurds" and handing out sweets.

The Kurdish fighters roaming around the city have been firing their Kalashnikovs into the air in celebration.

Some people could be seen beating a Saddam Hussein mosaic with their sandals, while the 4.5 metre (15 foot) statue of him dressed in traditional robes, which dominated Kirkuk's main square, has been pulled from its plinth and smashed.

Need for order

It took several hours to remove the statue with people attacking it with sledgehammers and a cable as they cried "Down with Saddam, Bush, Bush!"

For the Kurds this is a moment of immense significance

But even hours later John Simpson said the crowd's euphoria showed no sign of abating.

The statue now lies on the ground with its head sawn off, but people are still clambering all over it, hitting it, sticking things on it and mocking it in any way they can.

But our correspondent says that the Kurdish people understand the significance of this moment and they know that they cannot let this situation spiral out of control.

Once the sheer rapture has subsided they are expected to come to their senses and instil some kind of order, keenly aware of the importance of maintaining good relations with the Americans and of course the Turks, he said.