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Kurds Back Independence by 92% in Referendum; Iraq May Send Troops Iraq Escalates Dispute With Kurds, Threatening Military Action
(about 5 hours later)
ERBIL, Iraq — Iraq’s Parliament asked the country’s prime minister on Wednesday to deploy troops to a disputed area held by Kurdish forces, its latest retaliation against a referendum in which the autonomous region voted decisively to seek independence. ERBIL, Iraq — The Iraqi government escalated its confrontation with its northern Kurdish region on Wednesday, threatening to send troops and seize oil fields there and taking steps to shut down international flights to and from the region.
The referendum on Monday has roiled the region and prompted a confrontation with the government in Baghdad, which has called the vote illegal and has vowed to ignore the results. The vote has also provoked the Kurdish region’s two powerful neighbors, Turkey and Iran. The moves came in retaliation for a referendum on Monday in which the region, Iraqi Kurdistan, voted decisively to seek independence from Iraq. Kurdish officials announced Wednesday that nearly 93 percent of voters approved the referendum, which aims to create an independent state for the Kurds, an ethnic minority in Iraq.
Iraq has ordered Kurdish authorities to surrender control of the region’s two international airports or face a shutdown of all international flights starting on Friday. Two airlines — EgyptAir, based in Cairo, and Middle East Airlines, based in Beirut, Lebanon — said on Wednesday that they would suspend flights to and from the Kurdish region beginning on Friday. Iraq’s Parliament asked the country’s prime minister on Wednesday to deploy troops to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, one of several disputed areas held by Kurdish troops but claimed by Baghdad, and to take control of all oil fields in the Kurdish region.
The request for troops was an indication of how seriously Baghdad objects to the Kurdish bid for independence, although the decision is up to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. A decision to send troops would be up to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. He gave no public indication of his intentions on Wednesday, except to say he wanted “no fighting among the people of the country.”
Parliament asked him to send troops to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, one of several disputed areas held by Kurdish troops but claimed by Baghdad. He also sent a delegation from the Iraqi military to Iran to “coordinate military efforts,” a military statement said.
Iraqi troops, including Shiite Muslim militias incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces, are already in the area, and the American-led coalition is battling Islamic State militants elsewhere in the Kirkuk region. Kurdish troops known as pesh merga are deployed in the multiethnic city of Kirkuk, which they seized when the Iraqi Army fled an assault by the militants in 2014. Iraq has called the vote illegal and has vowed to ignore the results. The vote has also provoked the Kurdish region’s two powerful neighbors, Turkey and Iran.
All three countries have been conducting military exercises near the border of Iraqi Kurdistan this week.
Iraqi troops, including Shiite Muslim militias incorporated into Iraq’s armed forces, are already in the Kirkuk area. While the city is controlled by Kurdish forces, Iraqi troops are fighting the Islamic State as part of an American-led coalition about 40 miles southwest of the city.
Kurdish troops known as pesh merga seized Kirkuk in 2014, when the Iraqi Army fled an assault by militants there.
The inclusion of Kirkuk and other disputed areas in the referendum enraged the Iraqi government, which interpreted the move as a land grab. Baghdad has accused the Kurds of illegally selling Iraqi oil from the Kirkuk oil fields through a pipeline that runs into Turkey.The inclusion of Kirkuk and other disputed areas in the referendum enraged the Iraqi government, which interpreted the move as a land grab. Baghdad has accused the Kurds of illegally selling Iraqi oil from the Kirkuk oil fields through a pipeline that runs into Turkey.
The referendum on Monday was nonbinding outside Iraqi Kurdistan and was not internationally recognized. The Kurdish independence challenge is the latest crisis to rock Iraq in recent years. The country was controlled by Saddam Hussein’s regime until 2003, when the American invasion helped set off a brutal civil war and years of wrenching upheaval.
Just three years ago, Iraq lost a third of its territory to Islamic State militants. Now that the Islamic State is finally being driven out, Iraq is faced with losing a third of its territory and access to areas with oil and natural gas if Kurdistan breaks away.
Beyond the threats of military action, Iraqi authorities have struggled to come up with any meaningful punishment for the Kurds for carrying out the referendum. But with its move to shut down flights to the landlocked region, Iraq seems to have found a weak point.
Iraqi aviation authorities notified foreign airlines on Wednesday that it would cancel all permits to land and take off from two international airports in the Kurdish region as of Friday afternoon. The action followed an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abadi on Tuesday for Kurdistan to surrender control of its two international airports or face a shutdown of international flights.
The Kurdish Regional Government said Wednesday that it would refuse to hand over the airports. The region’s transportation minister, Mawlud Murad, called the Iraqi ultimatum “political and illegal.” He said the airports were critical to the American-led coalition’s fight against Islamic State militants.
Kurdish officials had planned to send a delegation to Baghdad on Wednesday to discuss the issue, but the offer was rebuffed.
On Wednesday night, Mr. Murad said that the Kurdish government had agreed to hold talks with Iraq about placing Iraqi government observers at its airports.
There was no immediate public response from the Iraqi government, but Mr. Abadi, speaking to Parliament earlier, said Iraq would not negotiate with the Kurds unless they annulled the results of the vote.
He said he had warned the Kurds “of the consequences of the crisis with Kurdistan.”
“The preservation of the security of the citizens of the country is our priority,” he added.
At least six airlines — three Turkish companies, the Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines, Royal Jordanian and Egypt Air — started notifying passengers on Wednesday that they were canceling regularly scheduled flights from the airports in Erbil and Sulaimaniya.
Baghdad can make good on its threat because the Iraqi civil aviation authority oversees all airports in the country, including the two international airports in the Kurdish region.
The threat to cancel landing and takeoff permits would force international airlines to cancel flights to those airports because insurance risks would be too high, according to Robert W. Mann Jr., a former airline executive who is now an industry consultant.
“The issue turns on which entity controls Kurdish region airspace and airports,” Mr. Mann said. “Unless and until the autonomous region is given that control, Iraq controls and can ban, blockade or embargo air service to airports under its control, much as Qatari airports have been embargoed or blockaded by nearby nations. Faced with such a restriction, most commercial airlines would comply, in part due to warnings by their insurers.”
The Turkish Consulate in Erbil said that Turkish airlines were working to increase their seat capacity in an effort to get all passengers out of the Kurdish areas before the flight ban took effect on Friday afternoon.
Without international flights, getting in or out of Kurdistan would require going through Turkey, Iran, Syria or Iraq, where there are also threats of a blockade.
The Iraqi Parliament urged the government on Wednesday to close off its land border with Kurdistan.
For years, the Kurdish authorities in Erbil have controlled their own borders with Turkey and Syria. Mr. Abadi has demanded that all borders return to full Iraqi central government control by Friday.
Turkey’s customs minister, in remarks carried by Turkish state television, said that the main land border crossing between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish region remained open, although he would not say for how long that would remain the case.
Turkey is the largest trade partner with Iraqi Kurdistan, and the road border is used for much of the cargo trade. Turkey also is the transit country for the oil pumped out of areas controlled by the Kurdish authorities to the world market.
Turkey and Iran have opposed the referendum and any moves toward Kurdish independence, fearing unrest by their own Kurdish minorities.
Kurdish authorities in Erbil announced on Wednesday that 92.7 percent of those who went to the polls on Monday had voted for Kurdish leaders to seek independence.Kurdish authorities in Erbil announced on Wednesday that 92.7 percent of those who went to the polls on Monday had voted for Kurdish leaders to seek independence.
About 72 percent of 4.6 million registered voters cast ballots, with about 2.9 million voting “yes” to independence and about 224,000 “no,” the Kurdish Independent High Electoral Referendum Commission reported. About 72 percent of 4.6 million registered voters cast ballots, with about 2.9 million voting yes to independence and about 224,000 voting no, the Kurdish Independent High Electoral Referendum Commission reported.
The announcement of the results, broadcast on Kurdish-run television, is likely to further escalate tensions in the region, where the landlocked Kurdish enclave is surrounded by countries opposed to the referendum. The referendum does not automatically trigger a declaration of independence but sets in motion a series of moves toward the establishment of a Kurdish state. The most important one of those may be negotiations of a separation with Iraq, which Iraq has refused.
Mr. Abadi, speaking to Parliament on Wednesday, said Iraq would not negotiate with the Kurds unless they annulled the results of the vote. American officials opposed the vote because they feared it would destabilize Iraq, stir ethnic conflict and undermine the American-led coalition.
Saying he had warned the Kurds “of the consequences of the crisis with Kurdistan,” Mr. Abadi added, “The preservation of the security of the citizens of the country is our priority.” Kurdish pesh merga fighters have played a central role in the coalition’s operations against the Islamic State militants, fighting alongside Iraqi Army units.
The government would protect all citizens, including Kurds, Mr. Abadi said, but he added, “We will call to account anyone who has participated in the referendum.” The Kurdish region’s president, Massoud Barzani, pushed for the referendum in hopes of obtaining a strong public mandate for eventual independence that he could use to begin negotiations with Baghdad.
Iran and Turkey also objected to the referendum, fearing unrest by their own Kurdish minorities. The two nations have conducted military exercises on their borders with Iraq near the Kurdish enclave and have threatened sanctions. Iraqi troops have taken part in the Turkish exercises. Kurds have been celebrating since Monday evening, setting off fireworks, honking horns and affixing flapping red, white and green Kurdish flags to their automobiles. Government billboards promoting Monday’s independence vote were still in place on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, a delegation from the Iraqi military was sent to Iran to “coordinate military efforts,” a military statement said.
The Kurdish’s region’s transportation minister told reporters in Erbil on Wednesday that the Kurdish Regional Government would not cede control of the airports and called the Iraqi ultimatum “political and illegal.” The minister, Mawlud Murad, said the airports were critical to the American-led coalition’s fight against Islamic State militants.
Mr. Murad said the Kurdish government had offered to negotiate the airport ultimatum with Baghdad. The region’s other international airport is in Sulaymaniyah, in northeastern Iraq.
The coalition operates from a secured military base next to Erbil International Airport. The United States, which pressed the Kurds to call off the referendum, has significant military and intelligence assets in Iraqi Kurdistan.
American officials have said they objected to the independence vote because they feared it would destabilize Iraq, stir ethnic conflict and undermine the American-led coalition.
Pesh merga fighters have played a central role in the coalition’s operations against the militants, fighting alongside Iraqi Army units that include Shiite Muslim militias whose leaders have condemned the independence vote.
A vocal minority of Kurds, some members of a movement called “No for Now,” called the referendum a political ploy and said the region lacked the democratic institutions necessary for statehood.
Many opponents of the referendum said they favored independence at some point, but voted no or stayed home because they did not want to support the region’s president, Massoud Barzani, who spearheaded the referendum. Political opponents of Mr. Barzani accuse his ruling party of corruption, incompetence and nepotism.
Mr. Barzani set up the referendum in hopes of obtaining a strong public mandate for eventual independence that he could use to begin negotiations with Baghdad. The Iraqi government, faced with losing a third of its territory and access to oil revenues and natural gas reserves, is resisting with tactics such as the airport ultimatum and the troop request.
Kurds who voted “yes” have been celebrating since Monday evening, setting off fireworks, honking horns and affixing flapping red, white and green Kurdish flags to their automobiles.
Even with the relations with Baghdad and neighboring countries deteriorating, government-produced banners and billboards in Erbil promoting the referendum have not been taken down.