"I don't see the country falling into a civil war despite the regrettable activities of certain people who ignore that Iraq is united," he said during a visit to the northern city of Arbil, capital of the Kurdish autonomous region.

"The security services are still in control of the situation and we would like to see matters move towards political (compromise) and rather than resort to force," he added.

"We have the capacity, if necessary, to impose order and suppress those who rebel against the state," he told a press conference.

Maliki said the sensitive issue of militias could be resolved in the context of a national reconciliation by involving their members in the reconstruction of the country.

The prime minister also denied there were any differences between the central government and the Kurdish regional administration on oil extraction in the wake of recent discoveries in the north.

"A Kurdish delegation will come to Baghdad to agree on a single law for oil that will apply to the entire country," he said.

The current legislation on oil, inherited from a period of nationalization in 1972, bans the participation of foreign companies in the sector, while the Kurds are looking to attract foreign investment to exploit their oil reserves.

At the same press conference, the head of the northern administration, Nijirvan Barzani, said that relations between the government and the north must be founded on the constitution.