As attested by Article 113 of the Iraqi Constitution, Iraqi Kurdistan is the only region which has gained official recognition internationally as an autonomous federal entity. The governorates of Duhok , Erbil and Suleimaniya form the current Kurdistan Region. The population comes up to 3.3 million over an area of 80,000 square kilometers, and composed mostly of Sunnis.

There have been growing tensions between Kurds and Arabs in Iraq. ‘The constitution enshrines ancient Kurdish claims on the oil-rich region of Kirkuk as well thousands of square miles of territory that currently lies outside Kurdistan in the area that runs round Mosul and the province of Nineveh as far as the Syrian border.’

Kirkuk has 13 percent of the confirmed oil reserves of Iraq and provides one third of its production.

At the moment, Kirkuk is politically charged and may soon be combustible. Political experts and analysts see this area as a potential new site for serious and prolonged clashes in Iraq. Its vast untapped oilfields can make this oil-rich city as one of the wealthiest spots in the Middle East. It is inevitable that its ownership is becoming a standoff point between local Kurdish leaders and the government in Baghdad. Add to this is the fact that ethnic tensions are rising in the city. Vestiges of the past cast a long shadow. ‘In 1988, Saddam Hussein launched a genocidal offensive against the Kurds in what is called the Anfal campaign where chemical weapons were used again and again on the Kurdish population.’

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