Iraq’s top court on Monday temporarily suspended the northern Kurdish region’s referendum on independence that’s due next week, a decision that put further pressure on the Iraqi Kurds to call off the controversial vote, reports the Associated Press. Iraq’s Kurds established a regional government in 1992 after the US enforced a no-fly zone across the north following the Gulf War. In related developments on Monday, Turkey’s military said it kicked off a previously unannounced drill near its border with Iraq – a clear show of force ahead of the Iraqi Kurdish vote. The exercises started Monday near the town of Silopi, close to the Habur border gate between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish region. It’s opposed to the Iraqi Kurdish moves for independence and has also urged Iraqi Kurdish leaders to cancel the vote.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 18, 2017 15:22 UTC