Fears of fresh conflict in northern Iraq are bubbling to the surface weeks before Iraqi Kurds hold a contentious vote on independence, with warnings of war over disputed, ethnically mixed border regions and reports of Shia forces pushing Kurd officials from a town to prevent voting.
The Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, has refused repeated requests from Baghdad, the US and regional powers to postpone its 25 September referendum, saying it would only do so if an alternative was presented by Iraq's central government.
Tensions have risen in areas liberated by KRG forces outside the region's original 2003 borders, including the city of Kirkuk. On Monday the KRG's president, Massoud Barzani, said "any attempt to change the reality using force" in Kirkuk "should expect that every single Kurd will be ready to fight".
No comments:
Post a Comment