Intense troop concentrations have been observed in the outskirts of Dibaga subdistrict in Maxmur since Thursday evening. Both the regional autonomous government in Hewlêr (Erbil) and the Iraqi central government in Baghdad have increased their troop levels in the region. The background is unclear, but the Khurmala oil field is located in Dibaga. The transport of oil to Turkey has been temporarily suspended.

It was reported that Hewlêr had deployed forces of the counter militia ‘Roj-Peshmerga’ as well as special units of the ‘Leşkerê Gulan’ subordinate to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to Dibaga in addition to regular peshmerga. Some political observers speak of the risk of an oil war between Baghdad and Hewlêr, while other sources warn of a possible Turkish invasion. The district of Maxmur and the attached Dibaga subdistrict are controlled by the Iraqi army and the so-called "Popular Mobilization Units" (Hashd al-Shaabi). The region is one of the disputed areas to which Hewlêr lays claim.

In late 2013, the government of Southern Kurdistan signed a fifty-year agreement with Turkey without regard to the central Iraqi government. The agreement provides for the development of oil and gas pipelines to export Kurdistan's reserves to Turkey and through it to the world market. In January 2014, Kurdish crude oil flowed for the first time directly from the Kurdish autonomous region to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan via a newly constructed pipeline, from where it was exported to the world market. The pipeline runs from Khurmala to Pêşabûr (Faysh Khabur) near Zakho on the border with Turkish territory.

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