Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurds' Statehood Vote Could Spark Conflict, Erdogan Aide Warns

Aug 3, 2017 | Selcan Hacaoglu, Bloomberg
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Iraqi Kurds run the risk of armed conflict with government forces and alienating neighbors if they push ahead with a proposed referendum on independence, according to a senior adviser to Turkey’s president. Leaders of the semi-autonomous and oil-rich Kurdish region in Iraq’s north have for years flirted with a complete break from Baghdad’s rule. They renewed the calls after a sweeping 2014 offensive by Islamic State routed the Iraqi army, bringing the extremists to the Kurds’ borders. The plan for a Sept. 25 plebiscite -- to be followed by another for a new parliament and president on Nov. 6. -- drew the ire of Iraq’s government, the U.S. and Turkey, which worries sovereignty would encourage its own Kurdish insurgents.