Kirkuk Is The Epicenter Of Iraq’s Next Civil War

Jesse Rosenfeld, The Daily Beast: The Epicenter of Iraq’s Next Civil War

Fighting between Kurds and Shia militias threatens to erupt around Kirkuk and nearby oil fields. ISIS watches and waits.

KIRKUK, Iraq — Tensions in the ancient city of Kirkuk are threatening to boil over as Kurdish forces move to turn their battle lines with ISIS into the border for a Kurdish state.

The city traditionally has had a mix of Iraq’s main ethnic and confessional groups—Kurds, Turkmens (many of whom are Shia), Shia Arabs and Sunni Arabs. But the province is rich in oil and natural gas that the Kurds deem essential as they plan for economic independence, especially since the Kurdistan Regional Government signed a major oil deal with Turkey. They don’t intend to share it. And hostilities with Shia Arabs are growing increasingly dangerous.

Update: The Epicenter of Iraq’s Next Civil War -- AP

WNU Editor: The old animosities and hatreds keep on popping up between the different sectarian groups .... even when facing a greater threat from the Islamic State.