IRAQ'S teetering democracy could be torn apart by events in neighbouring Syria in the next few weeks, according to leading figures from both sides of Baghdad's sectarian divide.
Iraq's broad coalition government already appears to be falling apart just days after the withdrawal of US troops, with Shia Muslim Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki overseeing attempts to arrest the country's most senior Sunni Muslim politician, Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi, for alleged terrorism.
Prominent Sunni Sheik Ali Sleiman al-Dumeni warns Iraq could revert to sectarian warfare if the situation in Syria is not quickly brought under control.
"We could be looking at the end of Iraq. I'm not exaggerating, Iraq might end as a nation," said Sheik Ali, the second most senior figure in the nation's largest tribe, the Dulemi.