Kurds in Iraq

Iraq's Kurds will go ahead with a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani has said.

Iraqi Kurds will seek talks with the Shi'ite-led central government to implement the expected "yes" outcome of the referendum, even if they take two years or more, he said at a news conference.

Iraqi Kurds abroad began casting their ballots Saturday in a referendum on independence of the autonomous region of Kurdistan amid international opposition.

Kurdish expatriates in China were the first to vote, Karwan Jalal, an electoral official, told?Kurdish news portal Rudaw.

The UN Security Council on Sept. 21 warned that a referendum on independence by Iraq's Kurdistan region was potentially destabilizing, adding its weight to international opposition to the vote.

The United States "strongly opposes" the planned independence referendum by Iraqi Kurds and urges Iraqi Kurdish leaders to engage in negotiations with the Baghdad government instead, the U.S. State Department said on Sept 20.

Just a week before the Iraqi Kurdistan Independence Referendum, the Turkish Army is organizing unexpected military exercises near the Iraqi border, daily Daily Sabah reports, referring to a statement from the Ankara Ministry of Defense.

The United States and Western allies have pressed Iraqi Kurdish leaders to ditch a "very risky" independence vote, presenting an alternative plan in an attempt to avoid conflict between the oil rich region and central government in Baghdad.

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to directly give heavy weapons to the People's Protection Units (YPG) was not a snap decision. There are deep alliances and rooted interests behind it. It looks quite unlikely that this decision will change if Turkey simply warns against it. 

We are face-to-face with a brand new crisis, as if there was a shortage of tension in the region. Kurds in the Kirkuk Provincial Council have voted to raise the flag of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) along with Iraq's flag over state buildings in the province. Now - as expected - all hell is let loose.

It seems that Kurdish-origin voters are going to play an important role in Turkey's upcoming referendum for a shift to an executive presidential system, while the Kurdish problem is also gaining importance in efforts to find a lasting peace in Syria. The latter concerns not only Turkey's internal balances but also the overall political equation in the Middle East.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region should hold a non-binding referendum on independence, its president said on Feb. 2, despite the numerous crises it is facing.

Massoud Barzani has previously called for a referendum but set no timetable for a proposed vote.