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Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurds Vote Overwhelming (92 Percent) For Independence

Iraq’s Kurdish people voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Iraq, with over 92 percent of the voters opting for an independence referendum, the Kurdish region’s election commission released in a statement. Voter turnout was more than 72 percent.

However, many of the Kurds are now facing being stranded after the Baghdad government in response to the vote, ordered international flights to halt service to Kurdish airports beginning on Friday. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has backed off the previously threatened use of force but has said that the government will take other measures to keep his country from breaking apart as the situation is set to worsen.

Despite such strong support, however, the non-binding vote was unlikely to lead to formal independence, even as it escalated long-running tensions with Baghdad. Iraq and its neighbors, along with virtually the entire international community, oppose any redrawing of the map.

The vote was held across the autonomous Kurdish region’s three provinces as well as in some disputed territories controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad.

The election commission did not release turnout figures for the disputed territories, which could serve as an indicator of how many people in those areas prefer Kurdish rule. Hendrin Mohammed, the election commission chief, told The Associated Press those numbers would be released by local authorities. He did not elaborate.

Iraq’s Shiite Arab-dominated parliament called on al-Abadi to deploy troops in the disputed territories, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, but al-Abadi said Wednesday he didn’t want a “fight between the Iraqi citizens.”

Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, and Dubai have all said that their national airlines will comply with the ban on flying into Kurdish cities.

Hardline elements of al-Abadi’s government, including the Iranian-backed Shiite fighters known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, also called for the use of force following the Kurdish vote. Their spokesman, Ahmed al-Asad vowed that they will not allow a division of Iraq and threatened the ones who began the referendum and were awaiting orders to move into Kirkuk and restore government control.

To read the entire article from NBC News click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Iranians Accused of Shelling Kurdish Villages Across Border in Iraq

Reports are surfacing from Northern Iraq that the Iranians have used artillery to shell Kurdish villages across the border in Iraq injuring at least three and forcing hundreds to flee their homes.

The attack, which took place on Monday, was in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Haji Omaran region and targeted positions of Iranian Kurdish rebel groups Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) and Komala, according to Kurdish officials.

“The shelling started at 5 a.m. [local time] and continued for several hours, forcing hundreds of civilians from nearby villages to flee their homes,” Farzang Ahmad, the local administrator of the Haji Omaran sub-district in Iraqi Kurdistan, told VOA.

Ahmad added that one villager and two rebels were injured and many local farmers’ livelihoods were destroyed as a result of the shelling.

“The Republic of Iran’s justification for the attack is the presence of Iranian Kurdish rebels in the border region with Iraq,” he said.

Iran is home to roughly 10 million Kurds who mostly live in the northwest of the country, close to Iraqi and Turkish Kurdish communities across the border.

Kurdish groups

Kurdish armed groups, such as KDPI and Komala, have been in conflict with the Iranian government for decades, and are seeking greater autonomy for the areas inhibited by ethnic Kurds. These armed Kurdish groups are widely spread across the 60-kilometer border with neighboring Iraq.

The mountainous nature of the terrain makes it difficult for the Iranian government to control the area.

To diminish the growing activity of the Iranian Kurdish rebels, the country’s military has bombed areas inside the Iraqi border on several occasions in the past, drawing criticism from Iraqi Kurdish officials who charge that civilians bear the brunt of the bombing.

The Iranian government has not commented on Monday’s shelling, but Iraqi Kurdish officials say the bombing was carried out in response to the killing of an Iranian commander and injuring two Iranian border guards during clashes in Kermanshah province on Saturday.

The Iranians are being accused of escalating the violence along the border with Iraq. However, they claim that they are just expelling Kurdish rebels from their borders. Kurdish spokesman believes that this will continue as long as both Iraqi and Iranian Kurdish people have no say in their own homeland.

To read the entire article from The Voice of America, click here:

Photo courtesy US Army