Baghdad piled pressure on Iraq’s Kurds on Wednesday, demanding they cancel their overwhelming vote for independence while parliament urged the Iraqi central government to send troops to take control of vital oil fields held by Kurdish forces. Final results released on Wednesday showed nearly 93% in favour of independence, and 7.3% against. Turkey, which has threatened to impose sanctions on the Kurds, said its border with northern Iraq remained open, although it may not remain so. Oil major Rosneft is increasing investment in Kurdistan and the Kurds have been developing strong ties with Moscow. Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani announced on Tuesday evening that the “yes” vote had won.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 27, 2017 17:03 UTC