ISTANBUL // Analysts expect tensions between Turkey and Iraq to continue to rise because they are part of a growing "Cold War" between Shiite and Sunni Muslim camps in the region.
Late Monday, the Iraqi vice-president, wanted by Baghdad on charges of running death squads but enjoying red carpet treatment while staying in Turkey, fanned the flames by accusing his government of steering the country towards sectarian confrontation.
Tareq Al Hashemi's comments came before he met with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, last night. They were the latest sign that the political crisis in Iraq is part of a wider problem in the region, analysts said.
"There is growing polarisation" between a Sunni and a Shia camp," said Celalettin Yavuz, deputy director of the Turkish Centre for International Relations and Strategic Analysis (Turksam), a think tank in Ankara.
Iran and Syria have been backing the Shia side with Russia in the background. Turkey and the Gulf states have been supporting the Sunnis, who are also backed by the United States and Israel, Mr Yavuz said. "The fronts are becoming clearer, just like in the Cold War," he said in an interview yesterday.
The withdrawal of the United States from Iraq almost 10 years after the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein contributed to rising tensions between Shiites and Sunnis in the country, he added.
Turkey, a secular but mostly Sunni nation, blames the Shiite-led government of Nouri Al Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, for growing tensions inside Iraq, while Mr Maliki accuses Turkey of meddling in its internal affairs.
Mr Al Hashemi has been in Turkey since April 9 where he has held talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, and other Turkish officials.
"I am gravely concerned about one side taking over power and pushing all other sides away," Mr Al Hashemi said on Monday during a visit to the Turkish resort town of Yalova, south of Istanbul, according to Turkish news agency reports. "The most worrying issue in Iraq at the moment is that political problems may turn into sectarian clashes," he added.
In December, Mr Al Hashemi was accused in by Iraq's judiciary of organising bomb attacks. He said Mr Erdogan was right to address the danger of sectarian strife in statements last week, which Baghdad condemned as efforts to interfere in its domestic affairs.
Mr Erdogan accused Mr Maliki of stoking conflict between Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims and Kurds through "self-centred" behaviour. In response, Mr Maliki said Turkey was becoming a "hostile state" with a sectarian agenda.
On Monday, the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad was summoned to the Iraqi foreign ministry to hear Iraqi complaints about the Turkish stance, but the move did little to calm the waters. According to a Turkish diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity yesterday, the ambassador, Yunus Demirer, "refused the oral protest and explained our views on the issue".
Analysts said chances for the row to be resolved quickly were slim.
"The crisis in Iraq takes on a regional dimension," Mehmet Sahin, a political scientist at the Gazi University in Ankara, said yesterday. "Tensions will rise further."
Mr Sahin said Mr Maliki's effort to take control of Iraq's security apparatus and the growing influence of Shiite power Iran over Iraq were worrying trends for Turkey. At the same time, Iran and Mr Maliki were critical of Turkey's position in the conflict in Syria. Ankara has been siding with the Syrian opposition and calling for the resignation of Bashar Al Assad, the president, who has been trying to crush an uprising against his regime.
The confrontation coincides with a Turkish policy shift triggered by the Arab Spring uprisings, Mr Sahin said. Ankara decided to turn away from authoritarian regimes and side more with popular demands of democracy, he said. "Maliki didn't like this; Assad didn't like this, and Iran didn't like this either."
Mr Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, has warned several times in recent months that a "Cold War" between Shiites and Sunnis could start in the Middle East. "There are those who want to create a regional Cold War," he said in January. "Sectarian tensions would be suicide for the whole region."
"At the moment, players are moving away from a solution, not towards it," Mr Yavuz of the Turksam think tank said, adding bomb attacks were killing civilians in Iraq almost every day.
tseibert@thenational.ae
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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More coverage from the Future Forum
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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MORE ON INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
From: Ras Al Khaimah
Age: 50
Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years
Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'
Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
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