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Pre-election violence raises fears in northern Iraq
During a recent election speech by Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, who is also chairman of one of the main Kurdish political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), supporters of his election bloc clashed with opposition party members. In another incident, supporters of an opposition party were the target of a grenade attack in the town of Chamchamal.
The violence raises fears of renewed clashes between Kurdish political factions in the predominantly Kurdish region of Iraq. Reports say additional security forces have been sent to Suleimaniya and precautions have been taken for the elections. Borders will be closed and vehicles will be forbidden on the streets during the elections, slated for July 25.
The Kurdistani List, a coalition of the two ruling parties, namely the KDP and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), accuse the opposition Change List (Gorran) of causing violence, while the Change List accuses the minister of Peshmerga affairs of assaulting civilians as the elections near in northern Iraq. One of the biggest Kurdish newspapers, Awena, recently wrote that violence could result in a new civil war between opposing Kurdish factions.
Suleimaniya used to be a stronghold of the PUK, but this dominance is now being challenged by the Change List's leader, Nawshirwan Mustafa, a former top leader of the PUK. The Change List seems to be especially strong in former PUK strongholds. The growing influence of the opposition leads to tensions between supporters of both political groups and brings back bad memories of the past.
Between 1994 and 1997, small skirmishes eventually evolved into a civil war between the KDP and the PUK and also involved neighboring countries. The "brothers' war," as Kurds call it, stopped only after a cease-fire in 1997 and a US-mediated agreement in September 1998 between the PUK and the KDP.
Although security officials downplay rumors of electoral violence, the Kurdish Globe has reported that Barzani has warned against a renewed civil war. “As long as I am alive, I will never allow Kurdish blood to be shed by Kurds again,” the paper quoted him as saying. Barzani said that Kurds "shouldn't make our enemies happy once again and have them laugh at us.”
Mohammed Tofiq, the highest-level Change List politician after Mustafa, told the Kurdish newspaper Rudaw that his movement cannot control violence and says his party has urged people to stop their violence and calm down. But according to an anonymous source cited by the newspaper Awena, a renewed civil war can only be stopped if there is an agreement between the Change List and the Kurdistani List.
Qubad Talabani, the son of the Iraqi president, told Rudaw that the report is highly "sensationalist" and "exaggerated." He doesn't expect a civil war, but he does expect some violence. “There is no doubt that emotions are running high here,” Talabani admitted before emphasizing that there is only a minority of "troublemakers" and people won't tolerate "brothers killing brothers again."
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