92% Kurdistan Yes vote risks regional backlash
KURDS REJECT BAGHDAD ULTIMATUM; AIRLINES TO SUSPEND FLIGHTS
I raqi Kurds voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence, risking retaliation from neighbours as well as the government in Baghdad who have pledged to do whatever it takes to prevent secession.
More than 92 per cent voted in favour of statehood, the Kurdistan High Election Committee said in Arbil yesterday.
Flydubai said yesterday it was temporarily suspending its flights to Arbil. Flights would be suspended to that city from Saturday, a spokesman said.
Airlines from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan also said yesterday they will suspend operations to and from Iraq’s
Kurdistan region following Baghdad’s threat to ban flights after the region’s independence vote. The Kurdistan Regional Government rejected an Iraqi government ultimatum to hand control of its international airports to Baghdad. Baghdad yesterday demanded the cancellation of the vote outcome while parliament urged the Iraqi central government to send troops to take control of vital oil fields held by Kurdish forces.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has hinted he may halt Kurdish oil exports.
Speaking to Gulf News yesterday, former Iraqi deputy prime minister Hoshiyar Zebari, who is a close adviser to Kurdistan regional president Masoud Barzani, said: “The Kurdish people have experienced many sanctions and embargoes in the past, and in my opinion, they will bear this one as well.”