Kurds' Statehood Vote Could Spark Conflict, Erdogan Aide Warns
- Islamic State advance forced new push for Kurdish separation
- Other officials have said referendum may be negotiating tactic
Masoud Barzani, center, in the village of Barzan, Erbil, Iraq on July 31, 2017.
Source: Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesIraqi 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.