Okaz al-Mustaqbal: Proposal to divide Iraq to 9 provinces

One Iraqi paper said yesterday that the Governing Interim Council agreed on proposals proposed by the constitution's formulation committee to divide the country to 9 almost independent states.

According to the committee's proposals, the 9 states will include the provinces of Baghdad, al-Basra and Or and includes the cities of al-Nasereyah, al-Samawam, al-Dewaneyah and al-Koufa province which includes the cities of Karbala, al-Najaf, al-Hella and Waset province which includes al-Kout and al- Amara and Salah Eddine province which includes the two cities of Karkouk and Tikrit and Ninoia province which includes al-Musil and al-Ramadi and Irbil province which includes Irbil and Dahouk and also al-Suleimaneyah province.

The weekly "Okaz al-Mustaqbal" explained that this division will allow each province to build departments for the army, the police and the internal security forces."

It indicated that "this division showed unrest among the Kurdish leaderships and satisfaction in the cities of the south."