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BAGHDAD: Demonstrators stormed Iraqi Kurdistan’s Parliament building in Irbil on Sunday, angry at Masoud Barzani’s decision to step down as president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), witnesses said.

Iraq is using last month’s Kurdish independence referendum “as a pretext to attack Kurdistan,” news agencies quoted Barzani as saying.

The KRG agreed on Sunday to withdraw Kurdish forces from all disputed territories and hand over border crossings to Baghdad, federal and regional officials told Arab News.

Baghdad responded to the referendum by launching a military campaign to regain control of disputed territories, including the northern city of Kirkuk and its lucrative oil fields. The campaign achieved most of its objectives except for a few small areas.

Federal forces are no more than a dozen kilometers from Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Fierce fighting erupted in several places last week between advancing federal forces and Kurdish troops, with casualties on both sides.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on Friday announced a 24-hour cease-fire, during which Baghdad’s demands must be met and Kurdish troops must withdraw from disputed territories.

“The Kurds have agreed to everything. Everything is solved,” a senior federal security official involved in the talks told Arab News.