Inside Iraq - Who controls Khanaqin? - 05 Sep 08 - Part 2

A new flashpoint is brewing between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), over the city of Khanaqin, in northern Iraq's Diyala province.

Tension has been simmering since the Iraqi defence ministry ordered Kurdish Peshmerga forces, who have been providing security in Khanaqin, to be replaced by Iraqi troops.

The majority of Kurds who control Khanaqin want the city to be integrated into the KRG in northern Iraq.

But in a recent move to curb growing Kurdish expansion, Nuri Al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, ordered the Iraqi army to force Kurdish parties to vacate public buildings in the city.

Massoud Barzani, the KRG president, accused Baghdad of trying to derail the democratic process in the country as the Kurds consider Khanaqin to be part of Kurdistan.

Al-Maliki shot back by threatening to prosecute any Peshmerga forces operating outside KRG controlled areas.

Inside Iraq this week scrutinises the implications of the rising political tension between Baghdad and the KRG as the Kurds are increasingly claiming a stake on disputed territories in the north of the country.

Our guests this week are Dindar Zebari, KRG Coordinator to the UN, Brian Katulis from the Centre of American Progress and Saad N Jawad, author and political analyst from London.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Inside
• Iraq
• Khanaqin
• Diyala
• Kurdish
• Peshmerga
• Dindar
• Zebari
• KRG
• Brian
• Katulis
• Saad
• Jawad
• Massoud
• Barzani

[GoraniMan]

The Kurds do not have to listen to al-Maliki, al-Jazeera, or any experts. Kurds are the majority in Khanaqin and Kirkuk and they should control these two cities.

Unfortunately, our leaders are asleep in Baghdad and letting this historical opportunity to pass to establish free, independant, and democratic Kurdistan.

Time the Kurds unite, stop inner-fighting, and corruption, and start their new democratic free state in Kurdistan. All western world support the Kurdish independence, including USA.

[bradosty2009]

long live Great Arya homeland :-

Kurdistan , Iran , Afghanistan and Tajikstan

[KurdSouth]

KURDISTAN HAS THE RIGHT TO BE INDEPENDENCE, and its gonna be, we dont nothing to do whit irak

[Alan131281]

what is this ! pure anti kurd and pro arab conference

[1Azadman]

@bradosty2009 Thank tou brother! Lets kill arabs in Khuzestan when Iran be free! Arabs must be gone in land of aryan aryan and land of sumerian related kurds with the ancesor Gutians! Sumerians survivng a part of kurdish blood, same with if persian be gone like sumerians, aryans rase going always surviving part of kurdish blood via "medes".

Turks and arabs = Emigrated peoples

[pogoism1]

what he says at 3:50 is just fascistic and pathetic

[pogoism1]

What the hell are these guys talking about??

Damn Xanekin Mossul and Kerkuk are kurdish areas, and there are no kurdish troops anywhere else.

These idiots are making it look like the peshmerga is stationed in bagdad.

[NationalArabParty]

National Socialist Arab Party

You may join this politcal party. We have no politcal power yet, but hope to soon. Read youtube page for details.

[passpc]

This interview was done in a very bad way as the program runner take sides which is of couse the iraqi government "arab side" and it is because he is an arab himself, and through out history arabs never gave any rights to kurdish people in iraq, kurdish not taking anyones land, but arabs did during sadam time, and killed over half a million kurish and converted the kurdish region from heaven of nature to hell. what a shame.

[BijiApoCheHugoChavez]

ohhh and basically, jaa as the kurdish guy was trying to say if the krg wasnt there random bandits or militia groups would hold them and try to promote their illegal causes.