Cracks in Iraq Shia-Kurd coalition

aljazeera.net: Sharp divisions have emerged between Iraq's ruling Kurdish and Shia Muslim factions after Iraq's Kurdish president accused the Shia prime minister of breaking coalition promises and overly dominating the government.

Kurdish officials warned on Saturday they would consider pulling out of the government if their demands are not met. That would cause the collapse of the government and put a new layer of political instability and fragmentation between Iraq's main communities.

The friction comes ahead of a 15 October vote on a new constitution, which both the Kurds and Shia support. But Iraq's Sunni minority is trying to defeat the charter at the polls, fearing it will give too much power to the other two communities. Read more