Yesterday, violent clashes erupted between two tribes in western Erbil province over a stretch of land through which the KRG oil pipeline passes, shedding light on the complex tribal partnerships that underpin the KDP’s model of governance.

Context: A confrontation broke out in a village west of Erbil involving RPGs, mortars, and other medium-grade weapons. The fighting was between the Harki and Goran tribes, who share adjacent, and in some areas overlapping, territory. The immediate trigger was a dispute over land ownership linked to the KRG’s oil pipeline, which runs through the village.

Analysis: The KRG had subcontracted maintenance of this pipeline section to a company owned by a local Harki tribal figure, Khurshid Harki. However, the village where the maintenance work was taking place is inhabited by the Goran tribe. Goran villagers attempted to block the equipment, accusing the company of using the project to encroach on their land. The Harki side, in turn, insists the land is theirs.

What makes the incident particularly revealing is that both tribal chiefs are aligned with the ruling KDP and play key roles in its electoral base. Yet there’s a twist: while many Harkis back the KDP, the tribe’s main chieftain is a prominent opponent of the party, aligned with the PUK and currently based in Mosul. This leaves the KDP in a bind—it cannot afford to alienate either the Harki figures who remain loyal or the Goran tribe, led by Bashar Mushir Agha, which is essential for votes in the Bardarash area.

The result is a precarious balancing act. The KDP appears to have granted both tribes subcontracting rights within their respective areas, though major contracts tend to go to Barzani-affiliated companies. Still, when the conflict escalated, both sides framed it not as a political or legal dispute, but as an act of tribal self-defense. The Goran tribe’s statement even asked: “Does this Harki chief think the Goran villagers have no one to protect them?” Meanwhile, the local Harki chief escalated tensions in an interview, declaring: “I swear, if Mushir [Agha] doesn’t stop claiming this land, I will kill him.”

In essence, the episode highlights how the KDP rules less through formal state institutions and more through a network of tribal patronage—outsourcing key functions like pipeline maintenance in exchange for loyalty and electoral support. Yet when disputes arise, even loyalists default to tribal logic, bypassing the very government they ostensibly uphold.