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Erdogan warns of civil war in Iraq

ANKARA, Jan 13 (KUNA) -- Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned leader of the Iraqiya List, Ayad Allawi, that Iraq might be slipping into a civil war because of the political escalation between partners of the ruling coalition.
Erdogan, in a phone call with Allawi yesterday, expressed concern over the current sectarian division which might trigger wide-scale chaos, a statement by the prime minister's office said on Friday.
This chaos, he warned, might cause a sectarian conflict in Iraq thus trigger "dangerous" regional consequences threatening security and stability in the region.
Erdogan called for confidence-building measures between all political forces in the government and parliament, citing the ongoing efforts to launch an inclusive national dialogue to address the political conflict.
Erdogan urged Allawi to work on defusing the conflict with prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki, the statement said.
Allawi, said the statement, welcomed Turkey's role to restore security and stability in Iraq.
Erdogan contacted Al-Maliki two days ago and discussed the political tension, primarily caused by accusations against some of Iraqiya's cabinet members of backing terrorism. (end) mm.bs KUNA 132013 Jan 12NNNN