KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) -- The Arabs and Turkmen of Kirkuk fear the Kurds will seize control of the northern oil hub after the U.S. pullout from Iraqi urban areas unless their power in the security services is curbed.

"The Arabs of Kirkuk fear that the province's security services who work for political parties will take control of the city after American forces withdraw," said Mohammad Khalil al-Juburi, head of the city's "Arab Bloc."

He was referring to the 8,000 "asaysh," or security personnel, who are linked to the main Kurdish parties and dominant in several districts of the city of 550,000 residents.

"Even if the situation is stable today from the point of view of security, there is no equitable participation (by the different Kirkuk communities) in this sector, and that's what worries us," Juburi told AFP.

He said that Arab residents wanted the U.S. military, before its pullout due to be completed on Tuesday, to cut back the Kurdish participation and allow for a fairer share out of responsibility for security duties.

Rich in black gold, the Kirkuk province of some 900,000 people is a microcosm of Iraq's problems.

It has several communities vying for power: the Kurds who want to attach Kirkuk to Iraqi Kurdistan, the Turkmen with historical claims to the area, Christians and Arabs, many of whom were settled in the province under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's policy of Arabization.

On June 24, Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region approved a new constitution in which it formally laid claim to Kirkuk province.

The province's Turkmen adviser, Turkan Shukur Ayoub, wants the Iraqi government "to reinforce the army in Kirkuk after the U.S. pullout because the police is weak and lacks equipment".

"We hope they will listen and send extra troops," he said.

According to the security services, Kirkuk has 11,500 policemen, with 35 per cent of them Arabs, the same percentage Kurds, 28 per cent Turkmen, and the remainder Christians.

The province's 12,000 troops are concentrated outside of the city, a military commander said.

Ahmad al-Askari, a Kurdish adviser for the province, has no qualms about security responsibilities. "The Kirkuk police, made up of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians, is capable of taking care of security," he said.

"And there are dozens of Arab officers in the force."

Fellow Kurdish adviser Azad Jbari argued that "members of the asaysh must be involved in security because they have the competence and know how to fight terrorism."

Despite the deep ethnic rifts which have delayed the holding of provincial elections in Kirkuk, both the Iraqi and U.S. militaries have been putting on a brave face.

"We are all set (for the withdrawal) and, if the need arises, we can call on support from U.S. forces," said General Abdul Reza al-Zaidi, the Iraqi army commander for Kirkuk.

The U.S. army says Iraqi forces have made the necessary improvements in recent months to be ready for the U.S. pullback from urban areas, as agreed by the two governments last November.

By Marwan Ibrahim