Iraq to act ‘soon’ over border areas with Kurds

Al Abadi’s statement came after Kurdistan government said it would accept court decision

Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, seeking to up the pressure in a stand-off with Iraq’s Kurdish region, said on Tuesday he would act soon over border areas under Kurdish control but predicted his government’s forces would regain them without violence.

The central government in Baghdad has cracked down hard on the Kurds since the government of the autonomous region staged an independence referendum on September 25 that Iraq considers illegal.

The Iraqi armed forces have threatened to resume military operations against the Kurds, accusing them of delaying the handover of control of borders and taking advantage of negotiations to bolster their defences.

“We will regain control of border areas without escalation. But our patience will run out. We will not wait forever. We will take action,” Al Abadi said.

The independence vote defied the central government in Baghdad — which had ruled the ballot illegal .

Al Abadi spoke a few hours after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced a concession to Iraq’s central government by saying it would accept a court decision prohibiting the region from seceding.

Retaliation

The announcement marks the Kurds’ latest attempt to revive negotiations with Baghdad over their region’s future after the central government imposed measures in retaliation against the independence vote.

Among the steps was an offensive by Iraqi forces and the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces that took back the oil city of Kirkuk and other disputed territories from the control from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) last month.