.A battle for land in northern Iraq
MOSUL, IRAQ -- Far from the volatile Shiite rivalries that have shaken Baghdad and Basra, this city has been devastated by an epic struggle for land and power between Sunni Arabs and Kurds that has shattered the social fabric and could very well shape the future boundaries of northern Iraq.
Kurds say that they have been driven out of the city by Sunni Arab militants and criminal gangs, who have set off car bombs and kidnapped and killed members of their ethnic group. In turn, Kurdish forces have been accused of carrying out assassinations in Mosul and torturing Arab detainees elsewhere in the campaign to annex territory to the semiautonomous Kurdistan region.
The Iraqi government and U.S. military spokesmen blame the chaos on Al Qaeda in Iraq, a loosely organized Sunni Arab insurgent group, which desires to create a new base in the north. But the problems date to 2003, when the Kurds first sent fighters into Mosul, and the status of the city's Arab elite was diminished.
"Mosul became a real battlefield between Sunni Arab insurgents and peshmerga [Kurdish fighters] before Al Qaeda in Iraq really became much of a factor up there," said Wayne White, head of the U.S. State Department's Iraq intelligence team from 2003 to 2005.
"The Sunni Arab population up there knows the Kurds have designs on areas well beyond their current area of control in Nineveh [province], and are doubtless determined to push back," he said.
The Kurds believe Mosul's northern and eastern suburbs were wrongfully appropriated by Saddam Hussein's Sunni Arab regime. They also contend that they are the rightful owners of the Sinjar region in the western part of the province. The sought-after territories are believed to contain oil reserves.
Since late 2004, Kurdish security forces have seized de facto control of the disputed lands. The Kurdistan regional government's flag, a tricolor with a yellow starburst, flutters across northern Nineveh, and soldiers from neighboring Kurdistan are posted at dozens of sentry posts on roads.
Arabs rarely venture into northern Nineveh these days, even if they have Kurdish friends who fled Mosul, the provincial capital.
"It's easier for Arabs to go to Syria and Jordan," said Juneid Fakhr, a retired archaeologist.
The Kurds want a referendum, called for under Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, to formally annex the disputed areas to Kurdistan. The referendum, postponed last year after the Iraqi government failed to conduct a census in the contested north, would also determine the status of the city of Kirkuk and other areas along the border of Kurdistan. A vote could prove to be the trigger for greater Arab-Kurdish bloodshed or a bridge to conciliation and prosperity.
"If it is a good solution that is packaged properly and people understand the ramifications of their voting, it could all be much to do about little," said Brig. Gen. Tony Thomas, the No. 2 U.S. commander in northern Iraq. "If it's poorly packaged and there is a run on the bank in any regard and there are loopholes, Article 140 could cause more friction and aggression than had existed here before."
The Kurds argue that the referendum would be the remedy to the competition in Nineveh and throughout the north.
"After Article 140, there will be no Arab-Kurdish problem," said Nineveh's deputy governor, Khasro Goran, a Kurd who is viewed as the most powerful political leader in the province.
Both sides portray themselves as the sufferer. Goran, who has survived seven assassination attempts, charges that the Kurdish ambitions have provoked a systematic campaign against his people.
"The Kurds have been the victim. More than 3,000 Kurds have been killed since November 2004 in Mosul, and 60,000 have fled Mosul," he said. "These attacks are to scare people not to support the Kurdistan regional government in case of a referendum."
In turn, Sunni Arabs argue that the Kurds' domination of the provincial government and military has played into the hands of radical Sunni militant groups.
"The majority of people in Mosul believe that the Kurds want to take over Mosul," said Sunni provincial council member Hassan Thanoun Alaf, who is with the Iraqi Islamic Party. "When Arabs and Kurds are on good terms, then Al Qaeda will not find support [in Nineveh] -- especially among the tribes."
Alaf hopes that provincial elections, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1, will give the Arabs real power in the government. Kurds dominate the province's government because of a Sunni Arab boycott of Iraq's first post-Hussein elections in January 2005.
Although the Americans downplay the chances of civil war in Nineveh, they recognize that the Kurds are on a mission to expand Kurdistan's borders after centuries at the mercy of various Arab, Turkish and Iranian regimes.
"They never had any geographic boundaries, so right now it's still going to play out," Brig. Gen. Thomas said. "They are one of these irrepressible forces," going after what they think is their God-given right. "We should stay out of the middle because we will be played one way or the other."
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Kurds say that they have been driven out of the city by Sunni Arab militants and criminal gangs, who have set off car bombs and kidnapped and killed members of their ethnic group. In turn, Kurdish forces have been accused of carrying out assassinations in Mosul and torturing Arab detainees elsewhere in the campaign to annex territory to the semiautonomous Kurdistan region.
The Iraqi government and U.S. military spokesmen blame the chaos on Al Qaeda in Iraq, a loosely organized Sunni Arab insurgent group, which desires to create a new base in the north. But the problems date to 2003, when the Kurds first sent fighters into Mosul, and the status of the city's Arab elite was diminished.
"Mosul became a real battlefield between Sunni Arab insurgents and peshmerga [Kurdish fighters] before Al Qaeda in Iraq really became much of a factor up there," said Wayne White, head of the U.S. State Department's Iraq intelligence team from 2003 to 2005.
"The Sunni Arab population up there knows the Kurds have designs on areas well beyond their current area of control in Nineveh [province], and are doubtless determined to push back," he said.
The Kurds believe Mosul's northern and eastern suburbs were wrongfully appropriated by Saddam Hussein's Sunni Arab regime. They also contend that they are the rightful owners of the Sinjar region in the western part of the province. The sought-after territories are believed to contain oil reserves.
Since late 2004, Kurdish security forces have seized de facto control of the disputed lands. The Kurdistan regional government's flag, a tricolor with a yellow starburst, flutters across northern Nineveh, and soldiers from neighboring Kurdistan are posted at dozens of sentry posts on roads.
Arabs rarely venture into northern Nineveh these days, even if they have Kurdish friends who fled Mosul, the provincial capital.
"It's easier for Arabs to go to Syria and Jordan," said Juneid Fakhr, a retired archaeologist.
The Kurds want a referendum, called for under Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, to formally annex the disputed areas to Kurdistan. The referendum, postponed last year after the Iraqi government failed to conduct a census in the contested north, would also determine the status of the city of Kirkuk and other areas along the border of Kurdistan. A vote could prove to be the trigger for greater Arab-Kurdish bloodshed or a bridge to conciliation and prosperity.
"If it is a good solution that is packaged properly and people understand the ramifications of their voting, it could all be much to do about little," said Brig. Gen. Tony Thomas, the No. 2 U.S. commander in northern Iraq. "If it's poorly packaged and there is a run on the bank in any regard and there are loopholes, Article 140 could cause more friction and aggression than had existed here before."
The Kurds argue that the referendum would be the remedy to the competition in Nineveh and throughout the north.
"After Article 140, there will be no Arab-Kurdish problem," said Nineveh's deputy governor, Khasro Goran, a Kurd who is viewed as the most powerful political leader in the province.
Both sides portray themselves as the sufferer. Goran, who has survived seven assassination attempts, charges that the Kurdish ambitions have provoked a systematic campaign against his people.
"The Kurds have been the victim. More than 3,000 Kurds have been killed since November 2004 in Mosul, and 60,000 have fled Mosul," he said. "These attacks are to scare people not to support the Kurdistan regional government in case of a referendum."
In turn, Sunni Arabs argue that the Kurds' domination of the provincial government and military has played into the hands of radical Sunni militant groups.
"The majority of people in Mosul believe that the Kurds want to take over Mosul," said Sunni provincial council member Hassan Thanoun Alaf, who is with the Iraqi Islamic Party. "When Arabs and Kurds are on good terms, then Al Qaeda will not find support [in Nineveh] -- especially among the tribes."
Alaf hopes that provincial elections, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1, will give the Arabs real power in the government. Kurds dominate the province's government because of a Sunni Arab boycott of Iraq's first post-Hussein elections in January 2005.
Although the Americans downplay the chances of civil war in Nineveh, they recognize that the Kurds are on a mission to expand Kurdistan's borders after centuries at the mercy of various Arab, Turkish and Iranian regimes.
"They never had any geographic boundaries, so right now it's still going to play out," Brig. Gen. Thomas said. "They are one of these irrepressible forces," going after what they think is their God-given right. "We should stay out of the middle because we will be played one way or the other."
latimes
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