Overview of problems facing Iraq as US pulls out troops

BAGHDAD, Dec 18, (agencies): The last convoy of US troops to leave Iraq has entered Kuwait, nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The final column of about 100 armoured vehicles carrying 500 soldiers crossed the southern Iraqi desert overnight. US forces ended combat missions in Iraq in 2010 and had already handed over much of their security role. As the last of the armoured vehicles crossed the border, a gate was closed behind them and US and Kuwaiti soldiers gathered there to shake hands and pose for pictures. The only US military presence left in Iraq now is 157 soldiers responsible for training at the US embassy, as well as a small contingent of marines protecting the diplomatic mission. As US troops complete their withdrawal from Iraq, more than eight years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, they leave behind a country still facing a litany of challenges. Here is an overview of some of the key problems: Disputed territories: Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region in the north wants a swathe of territory stretching from the border with Iran to the Syrian frontier to be incorporated into its three-province area. Baghdad also claims the land, which includes portions of four provinces, and centres around the oil-rich, multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk. Insurgents and Al-Qaeda: The Sunni insurgency has dramatically declined since violence peaked in 2006 and 2007, thanks to an alliance between Sunni tribesmen and the US military against Al-Qaeda since late 2006. Attacks, kidnappings and executions remain common, however, and the Islamic State of Iraq, Al-Qaeda's front group, still carries out major attacks against the security forces, Shiites and Christians. Tensions between religious communities: Many Iraqis accuse the US of bringing sectarianism to politics, a dimension they say was largely absent under Saddam. The Shiite-led government has accused Sunni Arabs, who dominated Saddam's regime, of plotting to overthrow it. Last Saturday, the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc suspended its participation in parliament over what it claimed was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's centralisation of decision-making power. Syria crisis: Iraq shares a long border with Syria, where an offshoot of Saddam's Baath Party rules. A potential fall of Syria's minority Shiite Alawite regime could push refugees across the frontier, threatening to raise tensions between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites. Iranian influence: Iran is widely believed to exert major influence on the government, and has been accused by Washington of training and equipping Shiite militias in the south of Iraq, charges Tehran denies. Institutional corruption and fragility: Iraq lacks an interior minister, and no permanent defence minister has been named since March 2010 elections because of political disputes. Institutions are weak and rife with graft, with Iraq rated the eighth-most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International. Some provinces want more autonomy, along the lines of the Kurdistan region. The security forces, while largely able to maintain internal security, are unable to defend borders, air space or maritime territory, and will not be fully capable until 2020, according to Iraq's top military officer. Energy: Though oil production and exports, which account for the vast majority of government income, are rising, no law has yet been approved to regulate the industry and the dispersal of revenues between the central government and its provinces. Social problems: Nearly a quarter of Iraq's population lives in poverty. The status of women in society has deteriorated markedly since 2003. Iraq also has about 1.75 million refugees and internally displaced persons. Kurdish separatists: The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), which have fought against the Turkish and Iranian governments respectively for decades, maintain rear bases in north Iraq. Ankara and Tehran regularly target those bases in air raids and artillery bombardments. Tensions with Kuwait: Relations with neighbouring Kuwait have been strained since Saddam's 1990 invasion of the oil-rich emirate, with Iraq frequently complaining about ongoing reparations and the still-incomplete demaraction of the border. Baghdad also accuses Kuwait of blocking its maritime access, and thereby threatening its oil exports, by constructing a massive port. Troops, protesters clash for 3rd day in Egypt Troops and protesters are clashing for the third straight day in Cairo, pelting each other with rocks in skirmishes near parliament in the heart of the Egyptian capital. At least nine protesters have been killed and 300 wounded in the three days of violence. Troops pulled women across the pavement by their hair, knocking off their Muslim headscarves. Young activists were kicked in the head until they lay motionless in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Unfazed by TV cameras catching every move, Egypt's military took a dramatically heavier hand Saturday to crush protests against its rule in nearly 48 hours of continuous fighting in Egypt's capital that has left more than 300 injured and nine dead, many of them shot to death. Rebel troops kill 6 Syria soldiers Rebel troops killed at least six Syrian soldiers in the flashpoint central province of Homs on Sunday, a human rights group said. An officer was among the six soldiers killed in the clashes in the town of Qusayr, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said, citing a dissident officer. Meanwhile, authorities arrested two army lieutenants, one in Damascus province and the other in Daraa province, south of the capital, where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March, the Observatory said without providing further details.