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Statements on forming new Iraqi provinces cause uproar

Iraq’s Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Torhan al-Mufti caused an uproar when he made statements that the government had decided to transform two Turkmen-majority districts into provinces, yet the actual governmental decisions left the matter open.
Members of the new Iraqi Parliament attend a session at the Parliament headquarters in Baghdad, November 11, 2010. Iraq's fractious politicians have agreed to return Shi'ite Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister, ending an eight-month deadlock that raised fears of renewed sectarian war, but leaving some Sunnis sceptical he can forge national unity. The pact on top government posts brings together Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds in a power-sharing arrangement similar to the last Iraqi government and could help prevent
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Iraqi Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Torhan al-Mufti caused confusion among the media and the public when he announced on Jan. 21 that the Iraqi government had agreed to transform two districts — Talafar in the Ninevah province and Tuz Khurmato in the Salahuddin province — into provinces. Both of these districts have a Turkmen majority. 

Yet, Mufti, who belongs to the Turkmen minority himself, only mentioned the parts that related specifically to Turkmen when speaking about these decisions. In fact, the decisions — issued in a statement on the same day — referred to two points:

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