Bahrain tensions could ignite sectarian war: Iraq

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has warned that the "intervention" in Shiite-majority Bahrain by the Gulf kingdom's Sunni neighbors risked a sectarian war in the region.

In an interview with the BBC television's Arabic service aired late Friday, Maliki said a Shiite-led revolt in Bahrain was different from other uprisings in the Arab world.

"The issue in Bahrain is different from Libya and Egypt, where there is no religious issue. In Bahrain, it has become a Shiite-Sunni issue with the entrance of forces from Sunni Arab countries," Maliki said.

Bahrain has witnessed a month of protests from mainly Shiite demonstrators seeking constitutional reform. Its ruling al Khalifa family, from the minority Sunni population, has cracked down on the rallies and called in troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

"In addition to there being a Sunni government in Bahrain, this has become like a Sunni mobilization against the Shiites," said Maliki, who earlier this month criticized the crackdown and military intervention.

"We did not move to support the Shiites. We called for intervention in Bahrain's affairs to stop so it does not turn into a sectarian issue," Maliki said.

"Supporting one party against another may have a snowball effect," Maliki warned. "The region could be drawn into a sectarian war and we do not want to inflame sectarianism in the region," he said.

Maliki added he did not "believe in the polarization of Shiites and Sunnis, but this is the reality on the ground" in Bahrain.

Shiite-majority Iraq has been plagued by sectarian violence since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion ousted the Sunni-dominated dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Iraqi Shiites staged nationwide protests following the crackdown in Bahrain against the mainly Shiite protesters.

Like Bahrain, Iraq has a Shi'ite majority that complained about decades of oppression under a Sunni ruling class.

Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion which toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and enabled Iraq's Shiite majority to take power, Baghdad has had uneasy relations with its Sunni Arab neighbors.

Tensions remain between Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis eight years after the invasion which unleashed a sectarian war that peaked in 2006-7.

In addition to there being a Sunni government in Bahrain, this has become like a Sunni mobilization against the Shiites

Iraq\'s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki