Saudi Arabia says it opposes Shiite plan to divide Iraq into federal regions

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia came out Tuesday against the new law that would divide Iraq into federal regions, saying it supported those Iraqi politicians who seek a united country, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Iraq's Shiite-dominated parliament approved last week a law that allows for the country's 18 provinces to join federal regions.

Iraq's Sunni Arabs oppose the law as they fear it will lead to the creation of sectarian mini-states, with the Shiites in the south and the Kurds in the north forming separate regions that would effectively control Iraq's oil fields and leave Sunnis in an impoverished region in the center.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting chaired by King Abdullah on Monday night, the Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani told the SPA that "the kingdom sides with all Iraqi patriotic forces that work for the country's unity."

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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