(CNN) -- Fallujah and Ramadi may have been sites of heavy bloodshed in recent days, but the Sunni Muslims of Iraq's Anbar Province, where the two cities are located, have long held a contemptuous attitude towards the embattled government of Prime Minister (and Shia Muslim) Nuri al-Maliki. Iraqi politics and many aspects of economic and social affairs have come to be dominated by antagonistic relationships between the country's Sunni and Shia populations. Nowhere is that more evident than in Anbar. For all intents and purposes, Fallujah and Ramadi are now out of the control of the central government and are now ruled under the authority, to differing degrees, of Sunni militiamen, local (tribally influenced) police, and extremist militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
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Recent fighting in Anbar province poses serious challenge to Iraqi government
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Al Qaeda-linked militants reportedly fighting alongside tribal leaders in Fallujah
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2013 was deadliest year in Iraq since 2008
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U.S. and coalition forces suffered some of worst losses during Iraq War in Anbar province
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As things stand today, the army stands poised to launch a major assault on Fallujah, where @placeholder militants and local tribesmen are now the predominant force.
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Iraqi security was in dire straits well before the outbreak of deadly violence in @placeholder.
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And with @placeholder elections scheduled to take place in April, Prime Minister Maliki is likely feeling pressure to present a strongman image, particularly to his core Shia constituents.
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This is not in any way to suggest ISIS (a structure that in fact ceased to officially be "@placeholder" in 2007) does not pose a threat; quite the contrary.
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The provision of sophisticated military equipment to the ultimately Shia-commanded Iraqi military, which is deploying @placeholder loyalist forces into a hostile Sunni tribal environment, risks further consolidating this emerging interpretation of international geopolitics.
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For Maliki and @placeholder, ISIS remains an extremely concerning problem.
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For Maliki and Iraq, @placeholder remains an extremely concerning problem.
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Crucially, local -- and not federal -- security forces enjoy productive structural links with the tribes, and should form the backbone of any urban fighting force in @placeholder -- as already appears to be case in areas of Ramadi.