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The Real Story: Can Iraq Avoid Fragmentation?

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Can Iraq Avoid Fragmention?

01/04/2016 GMT

Can Iraq Avoid Fragmentation?

BBC World Service - The Real Story, Can Iraq Avoid Fragmentation?

Will the Iraqi government have to cede power to armed groups controlling their own areas?

We are in Baghdad where the central government struggles to keep control of the whole country while it faces challenges from Islamic State militants and accusations of corruption.

Ever since the invasion in 2003 Iraq has faced ceaseless conflict. Today there are two parallel crises. In Baghdad protesters are demanding an end to elite corruption. And, on the battlefield, the Iraqi army and Shia militias are fighting so-called Islamic State. But Iraqis are wondering about the battles to come. Will the central government have to cede power to armed groups that control their own areas? Owen Bennett-Jones is in Baghdad, along with his guests to discuss the forces threatening Iraq's fragmentation.

(Photo: Protest by supporters of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Credit: AP/Khalid Mohammed)

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