UN warns of "looming crisis" in Iraq's Kirkuk

BAGHDAD, Jan 16 (Reuters) The United Nations warned to of a ''looming crisis'' in the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk where it said ethnic Turkmen and Arabs were being intimidated by Kurdish forces.

Sitting atop one of the world's richest oil fields and just outside the borders of the largely autonomous Kurdistan region, Kirkuk could become a regional flash-point, a UN report said.

Events in the area are already closely watched by neighbouring countries such as Turkey, which has historic links to the Turkmen and is deeply suspicious of Kurdish ambitions.

Kurds want to annex the city for their capital and Iraq's new constitution mandates a local referendum on the issue later this year.

Under Saddam Hussein, Kirkuk was subject to an ''Arabisation'' policy that drove many Kurds from their homes and brought in Arabs, mostly Shi'ite Muslims from the south.

Since the US invasion of 2003, many Kurds have returned and Turkmen and Arabs in the city now complain of ''ethnic cleansing''.

The Iraq Study Group, which reported to US President George W Bush last month, said there was a ''great risk'' of the referendum sparking further violence in Kirkuk.

ARBITRARY DETENTION In its bi-monthly human rights report on Iraq, the United Nations said the deterioration of the situation in Kirkuk was a major concern, particularly the rights of Arabs and Turkmen, which it called ''minorities'' although census data is disputed.

''They face increasing threats, intimidations and detentions, often in KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) facilities run by Kurdish intelligence and security forces,'' the report said.

''Such violations may well be the prelude of a looming crisis in Kirkuk in the coming months,'' it said.

The report cited arbitrary detentions by security forces and by Kurdish militias, and said ethnic groups have started moving closer to their own communities for protection.

Turkey fears the Iraqi Kurds will turn Kirkuk into the capital of a new independent Kurdish state, which could reignite separatism among the Kurds of southeast Turkey.

Last week Turkey said it could not stand idly by if Kurds seize control of Kirkuk, although analysts say military intervention by Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States, is unlikely.

But, Ankara could increase diplomatic and commercial pressure since Turkish territory provides crucial land routes for potential Iraqi oil exports to the West.

The UN report warned that violence was also rising in Mosul, another city near Kurdistan where Kurds and Arabs live in uneasy coexistence. It said 40 civilian and police deaths were reported each week on average recently.

REUTERS SP RN1928