Kurdish parliament votes to move ahead with referendum
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The Kurdish region's parliament voted Friday evening to approve the holding of a controversial referendum on support for independence Sept. 25, according to broadcasts of the session by local television. Kurdish leaders have come under increasing pressure from key ally the United States, as well as neighboring Turkey and Iran, to call off the vote fearing it could plunge the region into greater instability as the fight against the Islamic State group grinds to a close.
Earlier Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country plans to hold a high-level security meeting on Sept. 22 to decide what response to take over the Kurdish referendum, accused leaders of Iraq's autonomous region of "serious political inaptitude" for going ahead with plans to hold the vote. Also Friday, Iraq's Prime Minister received a call from his Turkish counterpart who underscored his rejection of the Kurdish vote, according to a statement released by Haider al-Abadi's office Friday evening.
Iraq's Kurdish region plans to hold a referendum on support for independence from Iraq on Sept. 25 in three governorates that make up their autonomous region, and in disputed areas like Kirkuk that are controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad. The planned vote has escalated tensions with Baghdad as well as neighboring Turkey and Iran3—countries home to sizeable Kurdish populations.
