Baghdad, Kurds reach deal on north’s security

BAGHDAD

This photo shows Peshmarga forces near Kirkuk. The armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been on alert for weeks. AA photo

Iraq’s prime minister said yesterday Baghdad and Kurdish officials have reached a preliminary deal to allow inhabitants of disputed northern areas to oversee their own security.

Nouri al-Maliki said Baghdad and leaders of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have agreed that units will be formed from local ethnic and sectarian groups to replace Iraqi and Kurdish forces currently in the disputed areas, which are claimed by Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds, the Associated Press reported.
Tension between Baghdad and Arbil has increased over the last two months following a decision by al-Maliki to form a new military command to oversee security forces bordering the northern Iraq. The move was deemed unconstitutional by the KRG.

Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said yesterday that the country faces dangers that may cause fatal results and that it is on the edge of a civil war, the Anatolia news agency reported. “These developments threaten the serenity and stability in the country.”