kirkuk iraq turkmen arab shoppers stroll open-air food market ethnically mix area kirkuk haggle price tomatoes gossip neighbor ostensibly normal day city million northern iraq nearby stand iraqi army soldier send central government baghdad week wrest control city kurds vote independence sept. 25. army recapture oil-producing kirkuk province territory across northern iraq dismay city kurds bring comfort residents ethnic group course things good iraqis take back city say mohammad turkmen butch grin large pile grind meat brothers end day kirkuk kurds iraq arab couple see kirkuk change hand several time say feel safe comfortable city say elderly hajji ahmed across street kurdish-owned restaurant mood different none kurdish regulars want come eat anymore feel safe say owner ask name fear retaliation afraid fate city unknown thousands people flee kirkuk rumor loot violence kurds spread social media though residents say many late return one reuters speak witness suffer aggression scenes far cry kurds jubilation day independence referendum dance sing streets though referendum oppose international ally kurdistan regional government krg president massoud barzani confident outcome would give government leverage negotiate secession kirkuk see many kurds future capital independent kurdish state include referendum widely see unilateral move consolidate kurdish control peshmerga fighters seize kirkuk 2014 iraqi security force flee leave region oilfields vulnerable islamic state militants sweep across northern iraq notion consolidate kurdish power quash monday kurdish force quietly withdraw allow iraqis retake city dispute territories claim central government baghdad kurds kurdish flag use hang street lamps build across whole city see kurdish areas roadside vendors sell flag iraqi army shi ite paramilitary force kirkuk lose forever say kurdish resident shorja district kurds kirkuk feel betray political leaders humiliate baghdad forcibly displace city late dictator saddam hussein civilians deploy along highway regional capital erbil kurdish peshmerga fighters bring gun defend iraqi invaders say one retire peshmerga fighter betray even political leaders come weapons fight men build berms road block slow traffic small town altun kupri perde kurdish order defend try come erbil attack ferociously protect people bakr razgai local commander say clash area friday morning bravado hard find kirkuk kurdish neighborhood shorja poster hang front main market show late kurdish leader jalal talabani face next kurdish flag scribble every night since monday afraid life say abdullah kurdish clothe salesman friend say propaganda social media ask see anything bad happen abdullah still afraid say kirkuk kurds joy turn fear iraqi army takeover