BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security forces backed by helicopters raided a Sunni protest camp before dawn today, prompting clashes that left at least 23 people dead in an escalation likely to fuel hostilities between the Shiiteled government and minority Sunnis that have been raging for months.

The fighting broke out in the former insurgent stronghold of Hawija, about 160 miles north of Baghdad. Like many predominantly Sunni communities, the town has seen anti-government rallies by protesters accusing the government of neglect and practicing a sectarian agenda. They also oppose Kurdish ambitions to annex nearby Kirkuk to the Kurds’ threeprovince autonomous region.

Sectarian tensions have been intensifying in recent months, pressured by the Sunni protests that began in December and what officials fear is a strengthening of al- Qaida and other Sunnibacked militants. Hawija was the site of some of the fiercest fighting between U.S. and Iraqi forces who faced frequent deadly attacks by al- Qaida in Iraq and other insurgents. That raises fears the growing anger among Sunnis could lead to a new round of violence.

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