Are you not tired yet?”Both Turkey and Iran fear that an independence move by Iraqi Kurds could set off unrest among their own Kurdish minorities. A delegation of Kurdish leaders traveled to Baghdad on Saturday to discuss the referendum with Iraqi officials. Kurdish officials said voting had already begun Saturday among Iraqi Kurdish expatriates in Germany, Denmark, Britain and Switzerland. Baghdad fears that the independence vote, which includes citizens of the contested areas, would strengthen Kurdish claims to those territories. Kurdish officials said security officers from the Kurdistan Regional Government took over responsibility Saturday for security in the area.

Source: New York Times September 23, 2017 19:07 UTC