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Kurdish, Arab fisticuffs in Kirkuk
Kurdish and Arab students clashed on Tuesday in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk. An Iraqi policeman was wounded during the clashes, where ethnic tensions are on the rise. The policeman was trying to separate the fighting students and three Kurdish students and one Turkman were arrested following the tussle at Kirkuk's Technical College, according to Police Captain Athir Ghazi. The fight erupted after Kurdish students refused to allow the Iraqi flag to be raised. The college's dean then asked students to lower all Kurdish, Turkmen and Iraqi flags, but the Kurdish students refused and students came to blows.Meanwhile, US forces accompanied by Iraqi police arrested 16 residents of two Arab neighbourhoods east and north of Kirkuk, according to police chief Khattab Abdullah Aref. He said the men were suspected of "aiding attacks against US forces and police," and of having planned a foiled attack against a US base at Kirkuk airport Sunday evening. Police had said previously that they arrested four people in connection with this attempted attack and another one targeting a giant fuel depot. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-12-24 |
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