BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Supporters of strong central government in Iraq beat federalist rivals in the provincial elections, creating tensions between Arabs and Kurds, an analyst says.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his State of Law list did well in the January elections based on a platform of a strong secular government and from favor gained following military action during the summer of 2008.
Joost Hiltermann with the International Crisis Group notes in The National newspaper in the United Arab Emirates that this created tensions among Kurdish parties that have regional ambitions in much of northern Iraq.
Maliki sent his forces into Diyala province in August, bringing the Iraqi military close to conflict with the Kurdish Peshmerga force stemming from disputes over jurisdiction in the city of Khanaqin.
Meanwhile, tensions are mounting in the region over the city of Kirkuk, which is in the middle of a territorial dispute between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad.
Hiltermann notes resolving the conflicts over Kirkuk may remove many of the obstacles between the KRG and Baghdad. With Maliki looking for gains in parliamentary elections scheduled tentatively for later in the year, however, the disputes between both sides may be left to simmer.
