The recent clashes between Iraqi Shia militia the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and Kurdish Peshmerga in the mixed Kurdish town of Tuz Khurmatu earlier this month was a worrying incident. It was also a depressing reminder of the potentiality that simmering tensions between the Kurds and elements within the Shias over disputed territories could escalate into further conflict and bloodshed. The Kurdish claim over Kirkuk for example is something that some Iranian-backed Shia militias are resolutely opposed to, and in that area they certainly have the means to forcefully oppose the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) regardless of whether or not Article 140 is finally implemented. The central government in Baghdad has a responsibility to reign in these militias and ensure that issues pertaining to disputed territories are resolved by negotiations or referendum, not by brute force. Especially if it wants to be seen […]