Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, is a barometer of the tensions between Sunni Arabs and Shiite Muslims. Baghdad's heavily Shiite district of Sadr City has been the stage for the rise of the Mahdi Army militia and poisonous rivalries among religious parties. Together, they provide a glimpse into Iraq's future.
Baqubah
Bombed-out buildings are a reminder of a recent past when the city was convulsed by sectarian war.
But in January's local elections, the province's Sunni majority won control of the local government. The Sunnis' participation reversed a decision to boycott national and provincial elections four years earlier, which shut them out of power and paved the way for the struggle between the Sunni-based militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq and Shiite-led security forces that lasted until 2007, when U.S. troops and Sunni fighters helped defeat Al Qaeda.
Although Maliki seemed happy to strike deals with Sunni leaders in a province such as Anbar, where Sunnis constitute a vast majority, it is unclear whether he will tolerate Sunni governance in a province with a mixed population.
Iraqi special forces, which fall under Maliki's control, and other army units have jailed elected officials as well as leaders of the Sunni fighters who rose up against Al Qaeda. Special forces arrested Hussein Zubaidi, deputy chair of the provincial security committee, in August. In May, after the Sunni coalition won the provincial elections, they jailed Abdul Jabar Ibrahim, who had been the Sunnis' top candidate. Both were accused of terrorism.
Sunni parliament member Abdul Kareem Samarrai says that because the special forces were involved, he thinks orders to arrest the officials came from inside Maliki's office. "Diyala is decided in Baghdad," he said.
Politicians in Diyala are more careful with their words. Hafith Abdul Aziz Jamaa, the deputy governor, says he could be targeted at any time. "There are powerful, organized people exploiting the courts and judiciary," Jamaa said in an interview. "We expected a lot of [our people] would be detained."
A member of Maliki's coalition in the Diyala provincial council, Issam Shakr Misr, defended the arrests. "It is not a jungle system," Misr said. "That is why [Maliki] strikes the outlaws."
Few people express confidence that the violence is over.
