Kurdish list says Ninewa to see serious escalation if govt. fails to intervene

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: The Kurdish Fraternal Ninewa List in the provincial council warned against a “serious escalation in the level of violence in the province if the federal government failed to show some action to bring an end to increasing armed groups.” “The areas where religious and ethnic minorities live in Ninewa are facing a great threat as armed organizations have mustered their strength while the local administration in Ninewa was turning a blind eye,” Mustafa Jameel al-Sinjari, a List member, told Iraqi News. “The armed groups are focused in the areas of minorities in Ninewa like Shiites, Yazidis and Christians. Matters will be heading toward a dangerous juncture if the federal government does not intervene to bring an end to the growing power of the gunmen who are capitalizing on al-Hadbaa List’s Baathist discourse,” Sinjari added. Al-Hadbaa, which occupies 19 out of a total 37 seats in the Ninewa provincial council, has grabbed top administrative posts, which prompted the Fraternal Ninewa List, which has 12 seats, to boycott the council as of April 2009. A delegation comprising Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Rafie al-Issawi and the ministers of defense, national security and communications is currently visiting the city of Arbil to meet Kurdish officials. Two days ago, the delegation was in Mosul to meet with the local administration and discuss the security, service and political situation in Ninewa that has been witnessing an escalated wave of violence and a decreasing level of services. AmR (S)/SR 1