Sunday Times 2
Iraq Kurds claim oilfields as bombings kill 28
View(s):KIRKUK, Iraq, July 11 (AFP) – Iraq’s Kurdish region claimed disputed northern oilfields in another blow to efforts to forge a united front against a jihadist-led onslaught, as twin bombings killed 28 people.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (AFP)
The escalating row between Baghdad and the Kurds and the blasts in disputed Kirkuk province, which killed mostly refugees from fighting elsewhere, came just two days before a planned parliamentary session to revive flagging efforts to form a new government.
With political disputes deepening and militants on the attack, the US embassy in Baghdad issued a sharp rebuke to Iraqi politicians, saying any additional delays or escalation would only play into the insurgents’ hands.
The regional Kurdish government further raised the stakes Friday by claiming control over disputed northern oil fields.
The move enraged the federal government, which labelled it “irresponsible behaviour which violates the constitution and the national wealth, and disregards the federal authorities and threatens national unity.”
The oilfield takeovers come after Kurdish peshmerga fighters moved into stretches of disputed northern areas vacated by Iraqi forces during the initial militant offensive last month, and regional president Massud Barzani has said they will stay there.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has meanwhile accused Barzani of exploiting the chaos created by the offensive led by the jihadist Islamic State (IS), and accused the Kurdish region of harbouring militants.
That claim drew derision from Barzani’s office, which shot back Thursday that Maliki has “become hysterical and has lost his balance”.