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Fault Lines
The battle for Kirkuk
Josh Rushing travels to Northern Iraq to look at one of the most serious divides the country faces.
Fault Lines Last Modified: 27 Feb 2010 14:14 GMT



On this week's episode of Fault Lines Josh Rushing travels to Northern Iraq to look at one of the most serious divides the country faces. 

Kurds and Arabs are poising themselves for a face off in the North over land, oil and power.

Kirkuk, a city rich in natural resources that may represent up to one-quarter of Iraq's oil reserves, is the centre knot in a tug of war between the Kurdish Regional Government and central Baghdad. 

The Kurds and central Baghdad are both keenly aware that Kirkuk's oil would be enough of an economic resource to allow Kurdistan to finance a move for autonomy.

Could this divide threaten to bring down the state of Iraq? Could the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi army ever face off in a civil war? Will any political solution emerge?

This episode of Fault Lines aired from Thursday, Feburary 25, 2010.
Source:
Al Jazeera
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