Iraqi authorities in the northern city of Kirkuk have imposed a nighttime curfew to prevent a deadly dispute from developing into ethnic clashes before a referendum on Kurdish independence, local residents have said. The Kurdish authorities want to hold the vote on 25 September, despite opposition from the central government in Baghdad and the region’s non-Kurdish population. Kurdish security and the police erected checkpoints across the city after a Kurd was killed in a clash with the guards of a Turkmen political party office. Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militias have threatened to dislodged the peshmerga from Kirkuk should the Kurds proceed with the vote. The Kurdish authorities show no sign of bowing despite international pressure and regional threats to call off the referendum, which Baghdad claims is unconstitutional and a prelude to breaking up the country.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 19, 2017 13:30 UTC