Iraqi Kurds Take Over 2 Northern Oil Fields

Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attend open-air Friday prayers in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 11, 2014. The lightning sweep by the militants over much of northern and we... Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attend open-air Friday prayers in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 11, 2014. The lightning sweep by the militants over much of northern and western Iraq the past month has dramatically hiked tensions between the country's Shiite majority and Sunni minority. At the same time, splits have grown between the Shiite-led government in Baghdad and the Kurdish autonomous region in the north. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

BAGHDAD (AP) — Kurdish security forces took over two major oil fields outside the disputed northern city of Kirkuk before dawn Friday, the Oil Ministry said, the latest move in a deepening a dispute with the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said Kurdish troops known as peshmerga also expelled the local workers from the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oil fields. He declared the takeover “a violation to the constitution” and warned that it poses “a threat to national unity.”

There was no immediate comment from authorities in the Kurdish self-rule region of northern Iraq.

The already difficult relationship between the Kurds and Iraq’s central government has sharply deteriorated in recent days. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused the Kurds of harboring the Sunni militants who have overrun much of the country over the past month. A day later, authorities suspended all cargo flights to the Kurdish region’s two main airports.

The Kurds have responded by declaring their politicians will boycott Cabinet meetings and renewing demands that al-Maliki step down. The seizure of the two oil fields, however, is a decidedly bigger step, and could signal a quicker unraveling of relations between the Kurds and al-Maliki.

___

Associated Press writer Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report.

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: