Mosul teeters on brink of conflict

MOSUL, Iraq, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Negotiations between ruling Sunnis with the Hadbaa Party in Iraq's Mosul province and Kurdish lawmakers ended in a bitter stalemate, lawmakers said.

The Sunni-led Hadbaa list won a surprising victory in Ninawa in the January provincial elections, trouncing their Kurdish counterparts by taking 19 of the 37 council seats and effective control over the government.

Kurdish lawmakers boycotted the provincial government when Hadbaa refused to allow Kurds to take any provincial Cabinet seats.

The Kurdish Ninawa Brotherhood list had threatened to annex parts of the province to the Kurdistan Regional Government unless Hadbaa allowed Kurds into the government. Many Kurds in Mosul consider themselves constituents of the KRG, refusing to recognize the Hadbaa leadership in Mosul.

Abdul Bari Zebari, a Kurdish lawmaker in the Iraqi Parliament, said ongoing efforts to settle the row between Hadbaa and the Kurdish Ninawa Brotherhood proved unsuccessful, the Kurdish Globe reports.

"We will not hold anymore meetings with Hadbaa because it is fruitless," he said.

Zebari blamed the Hadbaa list for failing to live up to its campaign promises following a series of anti-Kurdish statements. Lawmakers worry the violence could erupt in Mosul without a negotiated settlement.

More than 400 people have died in recent conflicts in the north.