Kifri
| Kifri | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
  Kifri Location in Iraq | |
| Coordinates: 34°41′0″N 44°58′0″E / 34.68333°N 44.96667°ECoordinates: 34°41′0″N 44°58′0″E / 34.68333°N 44.96667°E | |
| Country |
 |
| Governorate | Diyala Governorate |
| Elevation | 282 m (925 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 |
Kifri (Arabic: كفري, Turkish: Kifri) is a town in Iraq and the seat of Kifri District, in the north of the Diyala Governorate. The district’s population was about 42,010 Turkmens in 2003. (source: 2003 - NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq)
Background
Until the 1970s, many inhabitants of the town of Kifri and the villages west of the towns were Turkmen. The population in the eastern villages was almost completely Kurdish. Until present time the original citizens of Kifri are Turkmens; others are just gathered from villages around Kifri. However, after 1980 enforced Arabization changed this situation, and after 2003 a Kurdization policy - accompanied by large-scale emigration of the Turkmen (mainly to Baghdad and Kirkuk) - changed the demography of the city.