US military wary of ethnic strife in Iraq's Kirkuk

WASHINGTON, Apr 21 (Reuters) US forces, wary of ethnic tensions in Iraq's northern oil-rich city Kirkuk, have received reports of a small influx of Shi'ite Muslims there and a widening presence of Shi'ite militias, a US commander said today.

Army Col David Gray, a brigade commander in the 101st Airborne Division stationed in the area, noted that the area, which boasts roughly 40 per cent of Iraq's oil and 70 per cent of its natural gas, is home to rival ethnic groups eager to control Kirkuk in the future.

''Although large-scale sensational attacks are rare in Kirkuk, make no mistake, this area is still threatened by an insurgency and ethnic frictions,'' Gray told reporters at the Pentagon in a teleconference from Iraq.

''It's an amalgamation of a knife fight, a gun fight and three-dimensional chess,'' Gray added, referring to the complicated game mentioned in the ''Star Trek'' television series. ''And that assumes that the enemy plays by our rules, and he doesn't.'' Kirkuk, 250 km north of Baghdad, is claimed by Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen. Under Saddam Hussein's rule, Kurds by the thousands were driven out and replaced by Arabs, part of his efforts to ensure he controlled the region.

Iraqi Kurds now want Kurds who were driven out of the city to be allowed back, and for Kirkuk to be included in the Kurdish autonomous zone in northern Iraq. But many Arabs and Turkmen are bitterly opposed and assert a historical claim to the city.

Gray said the US military has received reports of an increase in Shi'ite Muslims moving into the area, although he said it appeared not to be ''huge numbers,'' perhaps in the hundreds.

''I believe that, again, this is all a part of the game to figure out who is going to control Kirkuk ultimately in the future,'' Gray said.

SHI'ITE MILITIA Gray said the Badr Brigade, the Shi'ite militia associated with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was setting up additional offices in Kirkuk. The group is one of the main parties in Iraq's ruling Shi'ite coalition.

He also cited ''some indication'' of the Mehdi Army, loyal to firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, coming to Kirkuk.

Shi'ites are the majority in Iraq, but were oppressed, as were the Kurds, under Saddam and are now asserting their political power.

''Right now we haven't seen any widespread violence regarding this issue,'' Gray said of the ethnic tensions. ''But I believe it's clearly one that needs to be dealt with quickly for this part of Iraq to move on and be peaceful overall.'' ''That friction is further exacerbated by the movement of Kurdish internally displaced persons and other immigrants into the city,'' he said.

Gray expressed hope Iraqi leaders would form a new government to erase the political uncertainty that US officials believe perpetuates the violence in Iraq.

''The longer the government is not seated, the more the insurgents try to drive wedges between the politicians trying to seek that government and the people, undermining the legitimacy of the institutions that are up and working,'' he said.

Reuters PG VP0305