The presidents of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan held talks Sunday to defuse an escalating crisis, after a deadline for Kurdish forces to withdraw from disputed positions was extended by 24 hours. Thousands of Iraqi troops are locked in an armed standoff with Kurdish peshmerga fighters in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, amid spiralling tensions following last month’s vote by the Iraqi Kurds for independence. Iraq’s central authorities had demanded the Kurds withdraw from disputed areas overnight but the deadline was extended by a day following talks. The peshmerga forces based in Kirkuk are mainly loyal to Masum’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of party, a rival of Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Iraqi and peshmerga forces could be seen early on Sunday still facing off in positions on the outskirts of Kirkuk, though there were no signs of troop movements.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 15, 2017 12:22 UTC