KIRKUK, Iraq - About 250 Turkmen chanting anti-American slogans demonstrated in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Friday, calling for the release of Turkmen detainees in US custody.
"No, no, America. Death to American spies," demonstrators from the Turkmen Front of Iraq party chanted following Friday prayers. "Down with federalism. Kirkuk is Iraqi."
"There are dozens of Turkmen being held in US custody," said Nejmadin Kassab, a spokesman for the Turkmen Front. "We want our voices to be heard on this issue, because the new Iraq is a democracy."
At least 25 Turkmen have been arrested in raids in the last week, said Colonel Burhan Taib of the Kirkuk police force.
In addition, Anatolia news agency reported that the Turkmen Front offices were raided by US troops in mid-February, though there was no immediate confirmation of the raids from US forces.
Turkmen and Arabs living in Kirkuk fear that the dominant Kurdish ethnic group will seize the city's oil riches and make it the capital of a future independent Kurdish state.
Turkmen claim they make up about 13 percent of Iraq's population of 27 million, but according to the last census conducted in 1977, their people account for around two percent of the population.
The Turkmen Front of Iraq received 93,480 votes and three seats in the 275-seat Iraqi parliament following the elections held on January 30.
US and Iraqi security forces blocked the streets to provide security during Friday's demonstration.
Turkmen are a Turkic language-speaking minority in northern regions of Iraq who are supported by Turkey.
Kirkuk's ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and others has fanned tensions that occasionally spill over into violence.