Controversial canal again sparks dispute in Iraq
The Khor Abdullah maritime canal between Kuwait and Iraq has ignited a political crisis in Iraq amid accusations that Iraq's Cabinet gave away Iraqi territory.
BAGHDAD — Iraq is fighting a tide of dissent as its lawmakers accuse the government of handing over the Khor Abdullah border canal to Kuwait in an agreement concluded by the countries’ joint committees.
The Cabinet's decision sparked outrage Jan. 26, with some parliament members and Cabinet sources claiming the move was part of a secret deal by which Iraq handed over Khor Abdullah as a gift to Kuwait, resulting in a crisis that government clarifications have failed to end.
An estuary, Khor Abdullah is at the northern end of the Persian Gulf off the shores of the Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah and the Iraqi Al-Faw peninsula, extending to Khor al-Zubair in Umm Qasr port.
Disagreement over the rights to Bubiyan were a major reason Iraq invaded Kuwait.
