ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— A prominent Sunni leader in Iraq’s parliament warned Thursday of failing security conditions in Diyala province following a suicide bombing that left over 70 people dead at a mosque were mourners attended a funeral. Militants of ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which apparently targeted Shiite population of the area. “Since 2005 we have witnessed victims on both sides, both Shiites and Sunnis, but unfortunately Baghdad has failed to responsibly react to the situation which has got out of hands,” Muhammad Al- Khalidi from the Sunni Muttahidoon Alliance told Rudaw. Khalidi said “the most proper thing the government now could do is to declare a state of emergency” to contain what he called “the sectarian tensions” in the province. Although largely a Sunni inhabited region, Diyala has a sizable Shiite population. Its vicinity to Baghdad, which is now predominantly a Shiite city, has added to its strategic importance. Khalidi said there were “systematic attempts” by the governments in Baghdad to change the demographic structure in the province in favor of the Shiite population. “The rise of sectarian tensions in Diyala is particularly worrying since it could end up in a bloody spiral with no immediate end which is why I think a state of emergency should be declared to prevent further deterioration,” Khalidi said. Hundreds of demonstrators took to streets in the city of Yaaquba, Diyala’s provincial capital, in protest of the recent violence in the area, which also has led to a series of abductions across the province, police authorities told Rudaw. “The demonstrators asked the central government to remove security officials in Diyala and make sure tribal tensions do not escalate further,” said Ghalib Atiya who is head of media office for the Diyala police force. Atiya said security forces and the Shiite militia, known as Hashd al-Shaabi, have been patrolling most of areas in the province. Also a Kurdish official in the region criticized the Shiite militia for “disrupting” transportation and communication to several areas in Diyala and accused local authorities of deliberately blocking the entrance to the province. “For the past two days officials in Khanaqin tried to resume transport of goods and people to Diyala but the Shiite militants refuse to open the checkpoints,” Jaafar Mustafa said. Lawmaker Khalidi feared a continuation of the current circumstances with thousands of refugees from Diyala still in camps across Iraq, could permanently change the population makeup in the region and pave the way for long term standoffs between Shiites and Sunnis. “I believe regional countries are part of this game which has been going on since 2005, but now it is openly carried out under the disguise of tribal tensions,” Khalidi said. Rudaw reporter met dozens of fleeing families, mostly Sunnis, in neighboring Kurdish city of Khanaqin, who accused Shiite militias of deliberately harassing them. “All government offices, hospitals, schools and other such places are closed with the Hashd basically patrolling the province now,” said an unnamed Sunni refugee in Khanaqin. Khalidi also said nearly 10,000 people from Diyala had taken refuge in Kurdish controlled areas who were willing to return to their homes but were blocked by “armed militants.” “We sincerely thank Kurdistan region for their hospitality and we know they will go back to their homes when security allows it,” he said.
