Iraq and the Kurds: Trouble along the trigger line
Crisis Group
Compte d'auteur
As sectarian fighting has receded since late 2007, a series of events has brought another conflict to the fore – between the Baghdad national government and the Kurdistan regional government in Erbil. It started with difficult (but ultimately successful) negotiations over a controversial clause on Kirkuk in the provincial elections law in July 20081 and was followed the next month by military manoeuvres in Khanaqin,2 a poisonous Prime Minister Maliki-Kurdistan President Barzani dialogue of the deaf over federal powers that began in September, the deployment of the army’s 12th division in Kirkuk at the end of the year, an Arab nationalist list victory in Ninewa governorate in January 2009 and a troubling pattern of altercations in disputed territories throughout, including at oil and gas field facilities.
The mix of military moves and anti-Kurdish rhetoric... | 
