Iraqi government asks foreign countries to stop oil trade with Kurdistan

September 24, 2017 By administrator

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq on Sunday urged foreign countries to stop importing crude directly from its autonomous Kurdistan region and to restrict oil trading to the central government.

The call, published in statement from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office, came in retaliation for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s plan to hold a referendum on independence on Monday.

The central government’s statement seems to be directed primarily at Turkey, the transit country for all the crude produced in Kurdistan. The crude is taken by pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean coast for export.

Baghdad “asks the neighboring countries and the countries of the world to deal exclusively with the federal government of Iraq in regards to entry posts and oil,” the statement said.

The Iraqi government has always opposed independent sales of crude by the KRG, and tried on many occasions to block Kurdish oil shipments.

Long-standing disputes over land and oil resources are among the main reasons cited by the KRG to ask for independence.

Iraqi Kurdistan produces around 650,000 barrels per day of crude from its fields, including around 150,000 from the disputed areas of Kirkuk.

Kurds press historic independence vote despite regional fears

September 22, 2017 By administrator

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi Kurds are expected to vote on Monday to back an independence drive that neighboring countries and Western powers fear could break up the country and stir broader regional ethnic and sectarian conflict.

Kurdish red-white-green tricolors set with a blazing golden sun adorn cars and buildings throughout the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region. Billboards exhort “the time is now – say ‘yes’ to a free Kurdistan!”

Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish region since 2005, has resisted efforts by the United Nations, the United States and Britain to delay the referendum. Neighboring Turkey is holding army border exercises to underline its concerns Iraqi Kurdish separatism could feed insurrection on its soil.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on live television on Friday the vote posed a threat to national security and Ankara “will do what is necessary” to protect itself. He did not elaborate.

But Hoshyar Zebari, a senior advisor to Barzani, told Reuters: “This is the last five meters of the final sprint and we will be standing our ground.”

Many Kurds see the vote, though non-binding, as a historic opportunity to achieve self-determination a century after Britain and France divided the Middle East under the Sykes-Picot agreement. That arrangement left 30 million Kurds scattered over Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Zebari said delaying the vote without guarantees it could be held on a binding basis after negotiations with Baghdad would be ”political suicide for the Kurdish leadership and the Kurdish dream of independence.

“An opportunity my generation won’t see again”.

The referendum raises most risk of ethnic conflict in the oil city of Kirkuk, which lies outside the recognized boundaries of the Kurdish region and is claimed by Baghdad. Its population includes Arabs and Turkmen but it is dominated by Kurds.

Turkey has long claimed a special responsibility in protecting ethnic Turkmen. Some of Iraq’s Turkmen are Shi‘ite and affiliated to political parties close to Iran.

‘‘We expect those who are against the referendum to cause trouble but we are determined not to engage in any kind of violence, we don’t want to give them any excuse to intervene or to question the validity of the vote,’’ Zebari said.

Iraq vice president: Baghdad won’t tolerate creation of ‘second Israel’

September 17, 2017 By administrator

Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki

Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki has denounced a planned Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraq, warning that Baghdad would not tolerate the establishment of “a second Israel,” after the occupying regime became the only entity to support the so-called plebiscite.

Maliki, who was also Iraq’s prime minister from 2006 to 2014, made the remarks in a meeting with US Ambassador to Iraq, Douglas Silliman, in the capital Baghdad on Sunday, adding that the leaders of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan must “call off the referendum.”

The so-called independence plebiscite “is contrary to the constitution and does not serve the general interests of the Iraqi people, not even the particular interests of the Kurds,” Maliki said.

His comments came two days after lawmakers of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), in its capital Erbil, approved the September 25 referendum as opposition legislators boycotted the parliament’s first session in two years.

Sixty-five out of the 68 Kurdish lawmakers present in the 111-seat regional parliament held the secession vote in the face of fierce opposition from the central government in Baghdad, the United Nations and the United States.

“We will not allow the creation of a second Israel in the north of Iraq,” Maliki said at the meeting, according to a statement released by the vice president’s office, warning that such a vote would have “dangerous consequences for the security, sovereignty and unity of Iraq.” He also urged the Kurdish leaders to come to the negotiating table

Washington has already expressed its opposition to the referendum, arguing that it would weaken the Arab-Kurdish joint military operations that have managed to make Daesh Takfiri terrorist group retreat in both Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The White House has also warned that holding the vote in “disputed areas” would be “provocative and destabilizing,” urging leaders of the Kurdistan region to call off the referendum and begin serious and sustained negotiations with Baghdad.

A close ally of the United States, the Israeli regime, however, has come out in apparent support of the controversial referendum. Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Tel Aviv regime “supports the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own.”

Turkey summons German ambassador to Ankara over Kurdish rally in Cologne

September 17, 2017 By administrator

Turkey has summoned Germany’s ambassador after more than 10,000 Kurds rallied in Cologne. The rally was in support of Kurdish independence as well as the jailed leader of the banned PKK.

Turkey summoned the German ambassador to Ankara in response to a large rally held by Kurds in Cologne on Saturday.

More than 10,000 people rallied in the west German city in support of an independence referendum in Iraq.

Ankara summoned ambassador Martin Erdmann to voice concern over what it called a militant rally, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We condemn the organization of a rally in the German city of Cologne by the extensions of the PKK terrorist organizations, and the allowing of terror propaganda. We have voiced our reaction in a strong manner to Germany’s ambassador to Ankara, who was called to the ministry,” it said.

On Saturday, Kurdish demonstrators called for freedom for Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), independence for Kurdistan, and democracy for the Middle East, local paper Kölner Stadt Anzeiger reported.

They had gathered at what was ostensibly a cultural festival organized by the Democratic Social Center for Kurds in Germany.

“We are protesting and celebrating at the same time – that is our culture,” attendee Rifat Arslan told the paper, after traveling there from Frankfurt with his family. “We demand a recognized and free Kurdistan and want the release of our leader Ocalan,” he was quoted as saying.

The PKK is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, Germany and the European Union.

Turkey accused Germany of not doing enough to stop PKK activities.

“The double standard approach Germany has been following with regards to the global fight against terrorism is worrying. We call on Germany to show a principled stance against all kinds of terror,” the ministry said in the statement.

On September 3, about 25,000 Kurdish supporters demonstrated in Cologne against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, where they also carried posters of Ocalan.

aw/jm (dpa, Reuters)

Garo Paylan: Armenian and Kurdish questions are taboo again

August 7, 2017 By administrator

Turkey Armenian Kurd Taboo The Turkish Parliament member of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Garo Paylan has touched upon the Turkish policy towards Armenian and Kurdish questions at the meeting with the party members in Diyarbakır, Artsakhpress reports.

According to Cumhuriyet, Palyan said that the limitations of freedom of speech are already being embedded in the Parliament as the open discussion of Armenian and Kurdish questions is henceforth banned for the Parliament members.

“Just as the average citizens are forbidden to talk freely, the same is going to be done to the Parliament members. Turkey goes back to the former state in the terms of the Armenian and Kurdish questions, when those questions were a taboo. All this is done by the hands of the ruling “Justice and Development Party”, Garo Palyan said.

Clashes with Turkey likely in days: Syrian Kurdish militants

July 6, 2017 By administrator

Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqqah, Syria, July 3, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

The head of a US-backed Kurdish militant group fighting in Syria says a confrontation is likely “within days” between his fighters and the Turkish forces recently deployed to Syria’s Aleppo Province.

“These [Turkish military] preparations have reached level of a declaration of war and could lead to the outbreak of actual clashes in the coming days. We will not stand idly by against this potential aggression,” said Sipan Hemo, the commander of Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), told Reuters on Wednesday.

Turkey and Kurds harbor historical hostilities toward one another. Ankara considers Kurdish populations, whether in Syria, Iraq, or Turkey itself, as “terrorist” groups bent on taking away territory from Turkish soil.

The YPG fighters have been involved in a major attack against Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria’s northern city of Raqqah since June. And Turkey has deployed forces to Syria without obtaining a permission from the Syrian government.

The YPG is part of a larger coalition of fighters — the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — which has been engaged in operations aimed at liberating Raqqah. The US considers the SDF, which also includes Arab fighters, as its main proxy force fighting on the ground in Syria.

Ankara has already expressed its deep concern about the advancement of YPG forces in northern Syria.

Hemo indicated that the YPG would continue to fight Daesh terrorists even after their defeat in Raqqah, saying it was committed with “the international coalition to cleansing Syria of terrorism,” referring to a US-led coalition carrying out aerial bombardment against purported Daesh positions in Syria.

The US’s provision of weapons to the YPG has further incensed Turkey, a NATO member, prompting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to warn the White House about the purported consequences of arming the “terrorist” YPG.

In an attempt to address Turkish concerns, the US said last month that it would have the Kurdish fighters in Syria disarmed once Daesh has been flushed out of Raqqah. Turkey wasn’t impressed. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Wednesday that no group armed in the Middle East had ever returned the weapons it had received.

Washington has “formed more than a terrorist organization there, they formed a small-scale army,” he said.

Kurtulmus also retorted that Hemo’s claims about a declaration of war by Ankara was not true, saying that his country would however respond to any hostile move by the YPG.

“This is not a declaration of war. We are making preparations against potential threats. Their (YPG) primary goal is a threat to Turkey, and if Turkey sees a YPG movement in northern Syria that is a threat to it, it will retaliate in kind,” Kurtulmus said.

Ankara fears that the YPG will permanently hold parts of land in northern Syria after Daesh is routed.

Referring to that possibility, President Erdogan said recently, “I want the entire world to know that in northern Syria, on our border, we are never going to allow a terrorist state to be established.”

In a bid to keep the Kurds far from Turkey’s southern border, the Turkish government has also been training armed men affiliated with the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) to fight Kurdish forces for some time.

“If there is a threat against us, our troops will conduct any operations with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on the ground,” Erdogan announced in an interview with France 24 television aired on Wednesday.

Last week, however, Hemo said that the YPG had never “threatened Turkey or its security,” while slamming the Turkish intervention in Syria as “occupation” of Syrian territory. He also said that the Kurdish fighters under his command planned to capture an area between the northwestern border towns of A’zaz and Jarablus, both of which are currently under the control of Turkey-backed FSA militiamen.

In separate comments made in an interview with the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat daily published on Wednesday, Hemo also said that Washington has already set up seven military bases in Syria’s northern areas, which are controlled by the YPG or SDF, including a major airbase in the vicinity of Kobani, a town at the border with Turkey.

The city of Raqqah, which lies on the northern bank of the Euphrates River, was overrun by Daesh terrorists in March 2013.

Turkey continues to muddy the Middle East, Does the US have answer for Turkish threats against Syrian Kurds?

July 3, 2017 By administrator

Source:

A Turkish army tank drives toward Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, Aug. 25, 2016. (photo by REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/07/us-answer-turkey-threats-syria-kurds-hamas-iran-hezbollah.html#ixzz4lm8RIukX

“Though pointing to Idlib as the next destination,” Fehim Tastekin reports, “Turkey’s field operations signal double objectives. First, Turkey wants its own troops in the de-conflicting, or ‘safe,’ zones determined during peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan. Second and more important to Turkey is to take advantage of the competition between rival coalitions west of the Euphrates. With the United States and Kurds on one side and Russia, Iran and the Syrian army on the other, Turkey hopes to break up the corridor carved out by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Ankara considers this stretch of land a threat to Turkey’s national security.”

“According to information leaked to the news media by official Ankara sources,” Tastekin continues, “TSK [Turkish military] forces will cross into Syria from three locations and establish control over an area 35 by 85 kilometers (21 by 52 miles). This corridor would start at Daret Izza and extend to Obin and Khirbet al-Joz. Another area of land, starting from Turkey’s Hatay border and extending 35 kilometers to Sahl al-Ghab, would also be controlled by the TSK. In this security configuration around Idlib, Turkey’s Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies would also have a role. So far, as many as 2,000 FSA soldiers have been put on alert.”

Tastekin reports, “Kurds insist that the Syrian army is cooperating with Turkey in this operation, at Russia’s behest. But there are no real indications of Russians and the Syrian army wanting to suppress the Kurds. To the contrary, the feeling in Damascus is that Russia and Syria would prefer to keep the Kurds as their ally.”

The US State Department, at least publicly, does not have an answer as to whether Turkey’s moves might complicate its overall Syria strategy. Asked by a reporter June 29 whether the United States was concerned about Turkish threats and attacks on the Syrian Democratic Forces (or SDF, which is made up primarily of YPG fighters), State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert replied, “The reason that the United States is involved in Syria is to take out [IS]. That’s why we care and that’s why we are there. Our focus is on liberating Raqqa right now. Our forces aren’t operating in the area that you’re talking about. I don’t want to get into [Department of Defense] territory. That is theirs. But our focus is on another part of Syria right now.”

That same day, pressed by a reporter as to whether the United States would defend the SDF against Turkey, Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said, “We’re not going to get there. I don’t want to speculate on that. We will continue to support our SDF partners in the fight against [IS] in Raqqa and perhaps elsewhere after that.”

And this brings us to Idlib. Tastekin writes: “According to official comments from Ankara, an operation is in progress to add Idlib to the area Turkey controls. Currently, Idlib is divided between Ahrar al-Sham and Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham. Though both Salafi militant groups seek the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, they are rivals. Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin talked of a plan calling for Russian and Turkish deployment at Idlib, Russian and Iranian troops around Damascus, and American and Jordanians at Daraa in the south.”

Idlib is, simply put, a time bomb for those who may hope that defeating IS in Raqqa might be the beginning of the end of the counterterrorism campaign in Syria. This column said in March: “While the United States is consumed with planning for unseating IS in Raqqa, Idlib may prove a comparable or perhaps even more explosive fault line because of the blurred lines among anti-Western Salafi groups such as Ahrar al-Sham, which is backed by Turkey, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.” The latter group is comprised of current and former al-Qaeda and affiliated forces. Ahrar al-Sham’s on-again, off-again ties with al-Qaeda make it, in our view, a fellow traveler, not an alternative, even if the two groups are presently at odds.

Do Turkey’s plans for Idlib include cleaning house on these groups? If not, we can expect Idlib to remain a safe haven for Salafi and terrorist forces seeking to keep up the fight against the Syrian government, while the citizens of Idlib continue to suffer under the brutal and arbitrary rule of these armed gangs.

In a related story, Metin Gurcan reports that Turkey is looking to crack down on “foreign fighters,” including Americans, who have taken up arms with the YPG. Gurcan writes: “There are plenty of allegations, but as of today the media has no evidence that foreign fighters in the YPG are fighting against Turkish security forces in Turkey or Syria. However, the capture of just one YPG foreign fighter in Turkey or one fighting Turkish forces in Syria could rapidly worsen legal and diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Western allies to dangerous levels — especially if that foreign fighter turns out to be a citizen of a NATO country.”

Hamas moves closer to Iran

Adnan Abu Amer writes that the blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continues to push Hamas toward Iran, as Al-Monitor has reported.

On June 14, Mousa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, met with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. “It is no secret that Hamas, despite having different positions regarding the Syrian crisis, needs Hezbollah when it comes to funding, training, securing supply lines for weapons and providing residence for Hamas cadres in Lebanon,” Abu Amer writes. “For its part, Hezbollah needs a Palestinian movement, such as Hamas, to restore its popularity among Arab public opinion, which it lost after being involved in the wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen against Sunni Muslims. Hamas, as a Sunni Islamic movement getting closer to the Shiite Hezbollah, may help dispel Hezbollah’s sectarian image. The new rapprochement between Hamas and Hezbollah may contribute to the return of armament and training cooperation programs, with the support of Iran.”

Abu Amer concludes: “Hamas realizes that the margin of political maneuvering has been narrowed by the polarization of the two rival axes: Qatar and its allies against Saudi Arabia and its partners. However, in the absence of other options, the movement seems compelled to resort to Iran and its allies in the region, namely Hezbollah, to survive. Even if it is faced with a new wave of criticism, Hamas would still be turning toward Hezbollah.”

Source: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/07/us-answer-turkey-threats-syria-kurds-hamas-iran-hezbollah.html?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=20170702&bt_ee=W1bAOXpkqqi56LAUy/ZcTt51CYXKyNoQEOQm8oTF2CIMmWLIRJvQ9Tle5DQMC2Zk&bt_ts=1499070744397

Erdogan condemns referendum on independence of Iraqi Kurdistan

June 13, 2017 By administrator

Erdogan condemns referendum on independence of Iraqi Kurdistan erdogan, condumneAnkara, 13 June 2017 (AFP) – The referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan is an “error” and a “threat” to the territorial integrity of Iraq, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

“Moving towards the independence of northern Iraq is a mistake and a threat to the territorial integrity of Iraq,” Erdogan said in a speech broadcast on television.

The presidency of Iraqi Kurdistan last week announced a referendum on independence, despite Baghdad’s opposition. But Turkey, itself a prey on its territory to a conflict with Kurdish separatists, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984, is firmly opposed to any constitution of a Kurdish state on its border, despite good relations with The Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.

In August, it launched a military operation in northern Syria to drive out the jihadists from the Islamic State (EI) group, but also to prevent the Syrian Kurds from linking the cantons they control in this region. Prey to a civil war.

“We have always defended the integrity of Iraq and we will continue to defend it,” Erdogan said, adding that such a referendum “is in nobody’s interest.”

Nagorno-Karabakh has good chances to achieve international recognition – Armenian orientalist

June 12, 2017 By administrator

The current state of world affairs increases the chances of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to achieve an international recognition, according to Ruben Safrastyan, the director of the National Academy’s Institute of Oriental Studies.
At a news conference on Monday, the expert cited the upcoming independence referendums in Catalonia and Iraqi Kurdistan (slated for October 1 and September 25, respectively) as possible good precedents paving way for such a scenario.

Meantime he admitted that the US, China and Russia remain the main vectors in global politics.

“Unlike the ‘cold war’ period which saw two power centers totally dominate the world, that [scenario] isn’t possible now, with small and medium states gaining looser chances to act,” he said.

Asked to comment on possible impacts on Armenia’s national security (against the backdrop of the changes in the Middle East), the analyst noted the states in the region gain both hazards and advantages.

Safrastyan highlighted particularly an intensifying confrontation between Turkey and Iran which he said seek for a dominant role in the region. “Both countries have high ambitions as it is. Hence the edges of cooperation – if any at all – are tactical in essence,” he said.

As for the opportunities for Armenia, Safrastyan said he pins hope on the re-arrangements expected in the near future. “The creation of a Kurdish state implies changing borders, so this state of affairs should regionally rely upon the Treaty of Sevres, the only international document adopted in the early 20th century to lay the foundations for new re-arrangements. They should, willy-nilly, return to that agreement, so we have to be prepared for that,” he added.

Breaking News: Iraqi Kurds agree to hold independence referendum on Sept. 25

June 7, 2017 By administrator

HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region on Wednesday announced it would hold a referendum on independence, in a move the central government in Baghdad is likely to oppose strongly.

The Kurdish political parties, except Change Movement (Gorran) and Kurdistan Islamic Group KIG (Komal), came to an agreement on Wednesday to hold referendum on September 25 this year on the Kurdistan Region’s independence.

“I am pleased to announce that the date for the independence referendum has been set for Monday, Sept. 25, 2017,” Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP leader Massoud Barzani said on Twitter.

Hawrami said the question put to voters would be “do you want an independent Kurdistan?”

Barzani’s assistant Hemin Hawrami tweeted that voting would take place in the disputed region of Kirkuk and three other areas also claimed by the central government; Makhmour in the north, Sinjar in the northwest and Khanaqin in the east.

During a meeting headed by Massoud Barzani, representatives of fifteen Kurdish political parties and the region’s Independent High Electoral Commission held talks on referendum, Kurdistan Parliament stalemate and political crisis.

Party representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of holding referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s independence on September 25, 2017, according to the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP) official website.

Parties were in agreement to “Work towards reactivating the parliament and resolving political issues in an aim to achieve national harmony.”

“It was emphasized that the maintenance and financial problems of the Kurdistan people, employees and needy people to be tackled,” the KRP reported.

The Kurdish political parties were commanded to appoint their representatives to fill up members of a referendum committee in a six-day period.

Meanwhile, a source from the Kurdistan Region’s Independent High Electoral Commission told NRT that the commission will be able to prepare for referendum election on the date parties agreed on.

The crises inside Iraqi Kurdistan deepened in August 2015 following the expiration of Massoud Barzani’s term as president as he refused to step down and remains unofficially in office. According to the law, Barzani cannot run for presidency anymore.

Barzani has closed the Kurdish parliament in October 2015 after parliament’s Speaker Yusuf Mohammed Sadiq was prevented by Barzani forces from entering the Kurdish capital of Erbil.

The Kurdish opposition accuses Barzani and his KDP of using the independence issue as means to stay in power and monopoly it.

Kurdistan PM Nechirvan Barzani has removed four members of his cabinet from the Change Movement and replaced them with KDP politicians.

The president of Iraq’s ruling Shi’ite coalition told Reuters in April it would oppose a Kurdish referendum. Ammar al-Hakim especially warned the Kurds against any move to annex oil-rich Kirkuk.

A senior Kurdish official, Hoshiyar Zebari, told Reuters in April the expected “yes” vote would strengthen the Kurds’ hand in talks on self-determination with Baghdad and would not mean automatically declaring independence.

Kurdistan considered as the most corrupted part of Iraq. According to Kurdish lawmakers billions of dollars are missing from Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil revenues.

A Kurdish lawmaker said in March 2017 the amount of $1.266 billion from oil exports and Iraqi Kurdistan’s revenue has gone missing over the last three months.

Iraqi Kurdistan officials including Massoud Barzani clan, Jalal Talabani family and PUK leaders have long been accused by the opposition and observers of corruption or taking government money.

KDP leader Massoud Barzani has been accused by critics of amassing huge wealth for his family instead of serving the population. Barzani’s son is the Kurdistan region’s intelligence chief and his nephew Nechirvan Barzani is the prime minister.

Lack of control mechanisms and closed parliament in Iraqi Kurdistan makes it a paradise for illegal financial activities by the Kurdish ruling leaders.

FEAR OF SEPARATISM

Iraq’s majority Shi’ite Arab community mainly live in the south while the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs inhabit different areas of the north. The center around Baghdad is mixed.

The idea of Iraqi Kurdish independence has been historically opposed by Iraq and neighboring Iran, Turkey and Syria, as they fear separatism spreading to their own Kurdish populations.

Kurdish officials will visiting Baghdad and neighboring states to discuss the referendum plan, Erbil-based TV Rudaw said, adding that elections for the Kurdish regional parliament are planned for Nov. 6.

Iraq has been led by Shi’ites since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

The Kurds have their own armed force, the Peshmerga, which considered as militias loyal and taking orders from the ruling parties, the KDP led by Massoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK.

The oil rich Kirkuk city in Iraq’s north is claimed by both Iraq’s central government and the country’s Kurdish region.

The Peshmerga forces took full control of Kirkuk after the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq in 2014 and the withdrawal of Iraqi army form the province and some other northern region of the state, including second-biggest city of Mosul. They are effectively running the region, also claimed by Turkmen and Arabs.

Hardline Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militias have threatened to expel the Kurds by force from this region and other disputed areas.

The Sinjar region is populated by Yazidis, the followers of an ancient religion who speak a Kurdish language and the group most persecuted by Islamic State. Makhmour is south of the Kurdish capital Erbil and Khanaqin is near the border with Iran.

Kirkuk’s Kurdish-led provincial council earlier this year rejected a resolution by the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad to lower Kurdish flags which since March have been flown alongside Iraqi flags on public buildings in the region.

Masrour Barzani, head of the Security Council of KDP-controlled areas and son of Massoud, said in June last year Iraq should be divided into separate Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish entities to prevent further sectarian bloodshed.