Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi yesterday demanded that Kurdish authorities “cancel” the outcome of the independence referendum in northern Iraq, as a condition for dialogue to resolve an escalating crisis.
In a speech to parliament, Abadi renewed his ultimatum to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani to hand over control of international airports by tomorrow or face a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region.
People in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence in Monday’s non-binding referendum.
Photo: Reuters
Any idea of secession is bitterly opposed by the governments in Baghdad, Turkey and Iran. The US pressed Kurdish leaders to call off the poll.
“We won’t have a dialogue about the referendum outcome,” Abadi told parliament. “If they want to start talks, they must cancel the referendum and its outcome.”
His demand was rejected by KRG Transport Minister Mowlud Murad, who told a news conference in the Kurdish capital, Erbil, that keeping control of airports and maintaining direct international flights to Erbil was necessary for the fight against Islamic State militants.
Kurdish leaders say the referendum was held to give them a mandate to negotiate the peaceful secession of their region with Baghdad and Iraq’s powerful neighbors Iran and Turkey.
Murad expressed the hope that the crisis could be resolved by tomorrow, saying it would damage Kurdistan’s economy.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority yesterday sent a notice to foreign airlines telling them international flights to Erbil and Sulaimaniya in the Kurdish region would be suspended tomorrow at 3pm and only domestic flights allowed.
The Iraqi parliament also asked al-Abadi to send troops to the Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk and take control of its oilfields.
Kurdish Pehsmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk, a multiethnic region, in 2014 when the Iraqi army fled in the face of Islamic State militants who overran about a third of Iraq.
The Kurdish move prevented the oilfields from falling into the militants’ hands.
The area, historically claimed by the Kurds, is also home to Turkmen and Arab communities. The KRG included it in the independence referendum held on Monday.
“The government has to bring back the oilfields of Kirkuk under the control of the oil ministry,” said the resolution voted by parliament in Baghdad, seen by Reuters.
It called on al-Abadi to “issue orders for the security forces to deploy in the disputed areas, including Kirkuk.”
KRG authorities put the turnout for the independence referendum at more than 70 percent, but many voters reported irregularities, including cases of individuals voting multiple times and without proper registration.
Official results were expected to be released yesterday.
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
RSS