Turkish/Kurdish tensions

Kurdish soldiers in Kirkuk [AP]

Following a recent war of words between Turkey and the Kurds a Turkish/Kurdish war seems to be looming on the horizon.

Inside Iraq asks when it might start and takes a look at the main issue fuelling the tension.

Kirkuk is the source of ongoing animosity between the leaders of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region and neighbouring Turkey.

The Turks suspect the Kurds want to control the city because of what lays beneath it; one of Iraq’s biggest reserves of oil.

And Iraqis – both Sunni and Shia – accuse the Kurds of threatening Kirkuk’s ethnic balance by trying to push them out.

Watch this episode of Inside Iraq here:

Part 1:

Part 2:

This episode of Inside Iraq aired from 13 April 2007

---

To contact us click on ‘Send your feedback’ at the top of the page

Watch Al Jazeera English programmes on YouTube