Iraq’s Kurds and Arabs struggle to defuse tensions

DOKAN, Iraq - Iraq’s prime minister headed north yesterday to the self-ruled Kurdish region to defuse rising tensions and address a range of disputes that have poisoned relations and threatened to become a new source of the conflict for the battered country as US forces increasingly disengage.

The meeting came as six people died in bombings in Baghdad and western Iraq.

US officials have warned that Arab-Kurdish tensions could jeopardize security gains, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered US mediation help during his visit last month to Iraq. Gates traveled to Baghdad and the Kurdish city of Irbil on his trip.

Shiite lawmaker Ali al-Adeeb insisted that there was no US pressure to hold the meeting but conceded that “there is a will and a wish to solve all the problems between the region and the central government before the US withdrawal from Iraq.’’

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with recently reelected regional President Massoud Barzani, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and other Kurdish officials yesterday at the resort town of Dokan. The leaders agreed to establish a committee to solve the outstanding issues.

“The challenges that face the political process require more meetings and cooperation between all Iraqi people,’’ al-Maliki said at a news conference with Barzani and Talabani. “I am very optimistic after this meeting.’’

The prime minister, who faces national parliamentary elections on Jan. 16, said last month in Washington that differences between the Kurds and the rest of Iraq were among the most dangerous problems facing his country and that they must be resolved by constitutional means, not by force.

“We discussed the stalled issues and a delegation from the Kurdistan region will visit Baghdad to solve the problems,’’ Barzani said.

Officials said the meeting was an important good-will gesture between the two sides, which have been at loggerheads for month.

“It is very important to clear the air and to instill confidence about the situation between Baghdad and the region,’’ said Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, a Kurd. “Both sides reaffirmed their commitment within the constitution to solve all the problems.’’

The northern, self-ruled Kurdish region has enjoyed relative calm since the 2003 US invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, but rivalries between Kurds and Arabs have fueled attacks in nearby areas.

Meanwhile, in western Iraq, a bomb ripped through an area packed with sidewalk vendors at an outdoor market, killing at least five people and wounding more than 30 in Haditha, according to a police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.

Haditha, a city on the Euphrates 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, is in Anbar province, which has seen a series of bombings recently after a period of relative calm.

In Baghdad, a bomb hidden in a plastic bag exploded near a local official’s office, killing one civilian and wounding three in the mainly Sunni district of Azamiyah, according to police.

Both areas are former insurgent strongholds that have seen a sharp decline in attacks after local Sunni tribal leaders joined forces with the Americans to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq.

North of Baghdad, Iraqi authorities detained 35 residents from a camp holding an Iranian opposition group, the latest move in a standoff that began Tuesday when a government police raid on the camp turned violent.

The Iraqi government has said it wants the Iranian exiles to leave the country and the police action last week raised concerns from human rights groups who say it is a step toward repatriating the exiles, who helped Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war and could face punishment or even death if they are sent back to Iran.