Ethnic tensions escalate in Iraq; Karzai plans Swat-style offensive

Arab, Kurdish tensions mount in Ninawa

The Kurdistan regional presidency denounced the governor of Ninawa province as regional tensions escalate between Arabs and Kurds.

On Tuesday, around 1,000 tribal leaders and other leading figures took to the streets in Ninawa to protest the actions of the Kurdish Asayish and Peshmerga forces.

Soldiers with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces prevented Ninawa Gov. Athil al-Najefi from the Hadbaa list from entering the Basheeqa district to attend a local sports festival Friday.

A statement from the Kurdistan regional presidency in Iraq said Najefi was traveling with a large police escort that included "about 50 vehicles full of armed men."

"This was an aggressive act and a show of force by Athil al-Najefi that in reality aimed to create a crisis in this area," the statement continued.

Najefi emerged as the provincial governor following the success of the Hadbaa party in the January provincial elections. Hadbaa trounced its Kurdish counterparts, taking 19 of the 37 council seats and effective control over the government.

The presidency's statement, however, said most of the residents in Ninawa did not vote for Hadbaa, while noting the province lies within the so-called disputed territories that are at the center of an administrative dispute between the Kurdish government and central government in Baghdad.

"We warn that if Athil al-Najefi continues with his confrontational policies, the region could face a big crisis," the statement reads.

Meanwhile, the Azzaman newspaper in Iraq reports tribal leaders submitted petitions to Najefi calling for the withdrawal of American and Kurdish forces and the closure of "illegal" Kurdish offices.

Iraq preps for SOFA vote

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki welcomed U.S. officials to Baghdad as elections officials plan for a July vote on the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement.

Maliki met with U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, as well as Alexander Vershbow and Michele Flournoy with the U.S. Defense Department, the Iraqi satellite channel al-Sumaria reports.

Maliki said American military pledges to Iraq had been completed and the strategic focus should now move toward provisions under the SOFA.

The United States and Iraq signed onto the bilateral security agreement in November. The 30-point agreement lays out a series of terms for American military forces in Iraq, including property ownership and legal measures. It also calls for U.S. forces to pull out of Iraqi cities by June 30 and for a complete military withdrawal no later than Dec. 31, 2011.

Faraj al-Haydari, chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq, announced Thursday he was ready to carry out a public referendum on the SOFA on July 30.

Abbas al-Bayati, a defense official in the Iraqi Parliament, said the provisions under the SOFA were in effect, adding lawmakers had no plans to amend the measure currently.

IHEC officials, however, said that while they were ready for the July vote, they had no legal terms or a budget to carry out the referendum.

Sadr emergence welcomed, U.S. says

The Istanbul visit by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr is an encouraging political development so long as he adheres to peaceful dialogue, U.S. officials said.

Sadr emerged from his religious studies in Iran to visit top leaders in Ankara on May 1, making his first public appearance in years.

The cleric met with top Turkish officials to discuss stability in Iraq amid escalating violence as well as national elections scheduled for December.

The visit was part of an effort by Sadr to establish himself as a political leader in the Shiite community. Sadrist supporters scored modest gains in the Iraqi provincial elections in January, positioning themselves strongly in several of the Shiite provinces.

Sadr reportedly told Turkish officials his movement had abandoned its militancy in favor of political opposition. Responding to questions from Turkish daily Today's Zaman, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Richard Schmierer said Washington viewed the development in a positive light.

"I think these are all positive developments for Iraq," he said. "So in that sense I think we encourage people to keep moving in that positive direction. And I'm very confident that (if) Turkish officials met with Moqtada Sadr, which they did, I'm sure that was their message to him as well. ... That's all matters."

Sadr and his militia, the Mehdi Army, fought U.S.-led forces following the 2003 invasion. A cease-fire agreement was reached in May 2008, and Sadr pledged to turn his force into a social-services organization.

He was last seen in public in May 2007 in the Iraqi holy city of Kufa.

Karzai plans Swat-style offensive

Afghan forces will mount an offensive to tackle Taliban insurgents in the tribal regions in an effort modeled after Pakistani operations in the Swat Valley.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said during bilateral meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that joint military cooperation was needed to tackle the insurgent problem along the volatile shared border, the Associated Press of Pakistan reports.

Karzai was in Islamabad to attend an economic summit for Afghanistan that brought together regional and international officials to work toward multilateral cooperation.

Taliban insurgents have descended from Pakistan's Swat Valley in violation of a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government, prompting military officials there to launch precision strikes on the region as Pakistani residents flee en masse.

Karzai and Gilani agreed the growing insurgency requires joint action, and both leaders pledged to eliminate the threat.

"While we marshal our joint efforts to fight terrorists and remove their sanctuaries, we must also offer protection for the civilian population and prove that our efforts provide for a better future, a promise of life and opportunity for them and their children," the Afghan president said.

Regional unity needed, Karzai says

Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on his regional partners to coordinate efforts to tackle instability to usher in an era of economic development.

Karzai was in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, to attend the Third Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan with regional delegates and international officials in attendance.

Karzai called regional economic integration an "achievable vision," saying priority should move toward specific projects.

Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding last week in Washington on a key transit route in a move to link both nations economically.

Karzai pointed to other developments with regional partners, including the Trans-Afghanistan natural gas pipeline and an Asian railway line, as signs of development.

He cautioned, however, that regional instability, the illicit drug trade and corruption were "significant obstacles and upholding the rule of law."

Terrorism and insurgent threats, meanwhile, posed the "most menacing challenge" to regional development, the Afghan president said.

"Terrorists and extremists are extending their reach in whole areas of our habitat and hindering our progress toward peace and prosperity," he said. "It is time to combine our energies and make sure that the forces of mayhem and death are defeated once and for all."

White phosphorus as propaganda

Rights officials warned the legacy of white phosphorus use by the Israeli military inspired a propaganda war between American and Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

The Israeli military faced significant backlash for its use of white phosphorus during fighting with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in January.

Allegations surfaced following a U.S. military raid in Farah province in Afghanistan last week that suspicious burns on civilians were the result of American usage of white phosphorus.

Afghan human-rights officials reported a series of burns evident on the bodies of several of the 130 civilians killed in the Farah operation, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports from Afghanistan.

"That has raised some suspicion that white phosphorus may have been used by some party of that fighting. We are not sure yet," said Nader Nadery with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. "But suspicion around this has prompted us to launch a further investigation."

U.S. and NATO forces said they had used white phosphorus in Afghanistan but added its use was in line with international conventions. U.S. military officials said white phosphorus was not used in Farah, instead blaming Taliban insurgents for the attacks.

Marc Garlasco, a weapons expert at Human Rights Watch, said it was unclear who was behind the burns, but he had no reason to believe American forces were involved.

"As far as the U.S. (military) goes, at this point we have no reason to believe that they are not telling the truth," he said. "We don't have incidents in the past where they have told us that they were not using a weapon and had (been)."

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(dgraeber@upi.com)