Article

2008-08-26 Iraq

Kurds warn of "violent reaction" if Iraqi army enters their areas

A senior Kurdish leader says Kurdish militia or peshmerga will confront Iraqi army units attempting to enter Kurdish areas. Mahmoud Sinkawi said if Iraqi troops moved into Kurdish towns and villages in order to evacuate government buildings occupied by Kurdish factions and peshmerga they will be met with a "violent reaction."

The threats signal a growing row between the Kurds who control three provinces in northern Iraq and the central government.

While the government acknowledges full Kurdish autonomy over the provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Dahouk it is demanding that Kurdish peshmerga evacuate areas falling outside the administrative borders of the three provinces.

The Kurds have exploited the weakness of the central government by sending their militias to control larges swathes of territory particularly in the restive provinces of Diyala, Nineveh and Kirkuk. The government has demanded the militias leave towns and villages mainly inhabited by Kurds within the administrative borders of Diyala.

The Kurds were issued two ultimatums but both were not adhered to, forcing the army to barge into the region of Qara tappa on the border of Iran. The troops forced the militias out of the government buildings they occupied. They also controlled government buildings which Kurdish political factions had confiscated and used as offices.

In his warning Sinkawi, the Kurdish militia leader, also alluded to the armed conflict between the Mahdi army, the militia group of the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi troops.

The Shiite militias were forced to surrender their offices to the Iraqi army. Sinkawi said Kurdish militias will not accept what happened to the "outlawed" Mahdi Army.

A Mahdi Army representative rebuked Sinkawi, saying the Shiite militia responded positively to a government order to surrender all state buildings they were using. "The Mahdi Army is not the outlaw. The outlaws are those who are refusing to give the government buildings they have occupied," said Abdulsattar al-Battat.

Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2008-08-26 06:16|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top

#1 A senior Kurdish leader says Kurdish militia or peshmerga will confront Iraqi army units attempting to enter Kurdish areas.

And why should the Iraqi army be allowed to enter Kurdish areas anymore than the US Army should be allowed to enter Virginia or Nouth Carolina without first declaring a Civil War? The government should fear the people, not the other way around. Give them some buildings, training and call them a national guard.

Posted by Betty Grating2215 2008-08-26 07:09|| 2008-08-26 07:09|| Front Page Top

#2
The Iraqi legislature adjourned without reaching a decision on regional autonomy and elections. At stake are, among other things, oil revenues. Maliki is maneuvering to lock out the Sunnis, Kurds maneuvering to retain regional autonomy and economic resources.

Or so it looks from here ....

Posted by lotp 2008-08-26 08:35|| 2008-08-26 08:35|| Front Page Top

#3 I agree that the US should be all over this as a mediator. We have really neglected political and diplomatic operations in Kurdistan, and I have long feared that it will come back to haunt us.

If our strategic plan was that Kurdistan and Iraq bust apart, we have laid the groundwork for it, but not for an amiable division.

Early on, it was proposed by the Kurds, I believe, that a barrier enclave of Turkmeni be created between Iraq and Kurdistan. Essentially a thick border just for the Turkmen that neither the Kurds nor the Iraqis would violate, lest the Turks intervene.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-08-26 10:42|| 2008-08-26 10:42|| Front Page Top

#4 Biden, the Foreign Policy heavyweight, has advocated the dissolution of Iraq into three ethnic states. Could be an interesting campaign issue here.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-08-26 10:49|| 2008-08-26 10:49|| Front Page Top

#5 Biden, the Foreign Policy heavyweight, has advocated the dissolution of Iraq into three ethnic states. Could be an interesting campaign issue here.

I think it's an excellent idea, given that Maliki is shaping up to be a second Saddam. The odds are that the last election in Iraq will be the one held just before US forces leave. Why give him the whole enchilada?

Posted by Zhang Fei 2008-08-26 13:09|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2008-08-26 13:09|| Front Page Top

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