In the disputed city of Kirkuk, hoisting the Kurdish flag is a controversial matter. Both Baghdad and Erbil lay claim to this oil-rich province. The central government sees Kurdistan's decision to include Kirkuk in the September 25 independence referendum as an effort to annex the area. In the city's main market, many people worry about an uncertain future. The Arab and Turkmen communities oppose the Kurds's drive to hold the referendum in Kirkuk. They fear that their own interests could be overlooked.
"The Turkmen and the Arabs don't want for Kirkuk to become part of Kurdistan," says Sheikh Ismail Al Hadidi, an Arab tribal elder. "Without the agreement of the Turkmen and the Arabs and the Christian, no project can succeed in this city."
Should tensions spill into violence, the contested province of Kirkuk is likely to be the epicentre of a new civil war.
