Iraqi media reported a Kurdish paramilitary force occupied the offices of a state oil company in Kirkuk in a show of force over the nation’s oil reserves. Forces loyal to the leftist Patriotic Union of Kurdistan entered the Kirkuk offices of the North Oil Co. to stake a claim to the oil in northern Iraq. Aso Mamand, the head of the PUK, was quoted by Iraqi media outlet Rudaw as saying the central government in Baghdad was exploiting the region for its oil wealth. “We have deployed troops to prevent Baghdad from exporting Kirkuk’s oil to Mosul and Baghdad,” he said. “Baghdad wants to export Kirkuk’s oil for the rest of Iraq while our people are in desperate need […]