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Iraqi army readies for showdown with Kurds
Iraqi troops and Kurdish peshmerga forces are bracing for conflict in the disputed city of Khanaqin in the most serious threat of clashes between Arabs and Kurds since the fall of Saddam Hussein.A delegation flew from Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish regional government, to Baghdad at the weekend to try to resolve the crisis. The two main Kurdish parties are allied and form part of Iraq's coalition government. However, Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region, and leader of the Kurdish Democratic party, said Iraq was still living under the influence of Saddam's regime and the central government was not serious about sharing power with Kurds. He claimed many military decisions were made without consultations with General Babakir Zebari, a Kurd who is the Iraqi army's chief of staff. Gen Zebari, apparently torn between competing loyalties, visited Khanaqin on Monday and was quoted in the Baghdad media as saying Iraqi troops had the right to launch operations in the area. The crisis has grown since July when the Iraqi government ordered peshmerga forces to withdraw to Kurdistan from Diyala. It also told the two main Kurdish parties to move out of the numerous government buildings in Diyala which they had taken over when Saddam's regime fell. The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, is a Kurd and the two Kurdish parties have been firm allies of the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki's Shia-led government since its inception. But on Sunday, the government in Baghdad shocked its Kurdish partners by announcing it would send finance ministry auditors to check customs revenues levied by Kurdish officials on the Turkish border. Transit traffic and smuggling are the main sources of revenue for some Kurds. Parts of northern Diyala are claimed by Kurds as part of their ancient homeland. An estimated 85% of the population of Khanaqin, which is situated on a dusty plateau close to Iran, are Kurds and Kurdish leaders insist that Khanaqin must remain under peshmerga control. "The Iraqi army still wants to enter, and the peshmerga is present," said Ibrahim Bajelani, a Kurd who heads the provincial council. "Everyone is on edge. If the Iraqi army tries to enter without prior agreement, we can't be held responsible for the consequences." Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-09-03 |
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