BAGHDAD, March 25 (UPI) -- Iraqi leaders say that Sunni and Shiite Muslim forces have already begun a battle to determine who will control Baghdad.
Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, told The Independent that militia from the two religious factions are engaged in a neighborhood by neighborhood campaign to drive out residents in the minority in each district.
"The fighting will only stop when a new balance of power has emerged," Hussein said. "Sunni and Shia will each take control of their own area."
Another official who did not want his name used told the London newspaper he expects the army to fall apart because soldiers are loyal to their own communities. He believes that U.S. forces will keep out of the fighting.
"The real battle will be the battle for Baghdad where the Shia have increasing control," he said.
Officials suggested that the Iraqi army is far weaker than its official numbers suggest because of sectarian divisions and because many soldiers on the payroll are "ghosts" whose salaries go to top commanders.
