Archive for the ‘International Press’ Category
Bad tidings in Iraqi Kurdistan
Asia Times
COLUMBIA, Missouri - Tensions between Iraqi Kurds and the government are on the rise, raising fears of ethnic clashes just as the country begins to recover from years of sectarian violence between Shi’ite and Sunni Arabs.
The Iraqi army last month deployed units to areas under Kurdish control in the volatile northern Diyala province, as part of its “Operation Good Tidings”, which has been launched to expand government authority over the area.
The centerpiece of the controversial move was Khanaqin, 140 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, a small, largely Kurdish town that has oil reserves and is close to the Iranian border. Kurdish security forces, known as the Peshmarga, left their bases in the nearby districts of Jalawla, Saadiya and Qara Tapa in northern
Diyala after receiving warnings from the Iraqi army. Read the rest of this entry »