Iraqi TV: Iraqi Forces Enter Disputed Kirkuk Region

Iraqi state media says Iraqi forces have entered the disputed region of Kurdish-held Kirkuk, apparently without firing a shot.

The reports say that forces began moving at midnight on Sunday towards oil fields and an important air base held by Kurdish forces near the city. It was reported that Iraqi soldiers are now in control of “vast areas” of oil-rich Kirkuk and will seek the cooperation of the local population and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

Tensions in the area began rising several weeks ago, when the country’s Kurds voted for independence from Baghdad. The referendum was bitterly opposed by Iran, Baghdad and Turkey and has since led to a blockade of the region by all three powers. Baghdad has accused fighters who are not Iraqi Kurds — including Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party — of being inside Kirkuk, as part of the Kurdish standoff with Iraq over the status of the region.

The Iraqi National Security Council calls this a “declaration of war towards Iraqis and government forces.”

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters seized parts of Kirkuk in 2014 during its battle against Islamic State. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: Bangladesh


 

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