The transfer of security to Iraq from the US military in western Anbar province could be delayed because of a dispute between Sunni Arab tribal leaders and politicians in the vast desert region.
The head of the provincial council as well as a prominent Sunni Arab tribal sheikh said this week they were both urging the government to put the handover off for a few months.
The row hinges on who should be in charge of security in the former insurgent heartland. The council wants ultimate control, which normally happens when US-led forces transfer security, while tribal leaders want Iraq's military to have the final say.
The row illustrates the deepening mistrust between urbanised Sunni Arab politicians in the Iraqi Islamic Party, which dominates the council, and tribal leaders who rose to prominence as part of a movement that joined forces with the US military to expel al Qaeda from Anbar.
Those tensions will likely play out in elections later this year when most Sunni Arabs will vote for local leaders for the first time after largely boycotting provincial polls in 2002.
Anbar was once the centre of the Sunni Arab insurgency against US forces as well as an al Qaeda haven.
But security has dramatically improved, and it was to be the first Sunni Arab province handed over to Iraqi authorities at the end of June. That ceremony was delayed by sandstorms, the US military has said. No new date has been set.
Today, US-led forces handed over southern Qadisiya province, giving Iraq security control in one of its 81 regions.
"The provincial council has suggested we postpone the security handover security for ... three months," Abdul Salam al-Aani, head of the Anbar Provincial Council said, adding the council had sent a request to the government in Baghdad this week.
Sheikh Ali Hatam Al-Sulaiman, one of Anbar's most prominent tribal leaders, said tribal elders wanted to delay the handover until after the provincial elections. Sheikh Hameed Farhan al-Hayyes, another tribal leader, supported Sulaiman's comments.
Reuters