Iraq’s prime minister has rejected Kurdish proposals to end the escalating crisis with Baghdad, as fresh clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and peshmerga fighters in the autonomous Kurdistan region.

The tough line taken by Haider al-Abadi could spark concerns among western allies, particularly Washington, that his government is moving too aggressively against the Kurds, and risks triggering a conflict just as Iraq and the US-led coalition begin their final push against Isis in Iraq.


The Kurdistan Regional Security Council said Iraqi forces were attacking the peshmerga in a four-pronged attack north-west of Mosul, including toward a strategic border region between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. It said the military was fighting alongside Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary forces that Washington has urged Mr Abadi to keep out of the fray.


Members of Iraq’s paramilitary forces, known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), argued that Kurdish peshmerga initiated the clashes by opening fire on Baghdad-backed forces trying to move towards the Iraqi-Kurdish border.

A day earlier, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) offered to suspend its drive for independence after it held a contentious referendum last month, the result of which was an overwhelming “Yes” to breaking away from Iraq. In exchange, it demanded a halt to all military operations.

Mr Abadi rejected the offer, saying only a complete annulment of the vote would be accepted, and appeared to defy US calls for Iraqi forces to back down.



“We do not consider our constitutional measures to impose federal control anything but a victory for all Iraqis,” he said in a statement. “Our strategy is to put these areas under control of the state. We will not accept anything but the cancellation of the referendum and a commitment to the constitution.”

Over the past 10 days, Iraqi forces retaken disputed territories claimed by Baghdad and the Kurds, but held by Kurdish forces since Isis swept through the country in 2014.


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Mr Abadi has vowed to retake all disputed areas, and to regain control of all of Iraq’s borders, in retaliation for the independence referendum. But now, his forces are pushing into areas long-controlled by the KRG, and in an offensive that could threaten the autonomous region’s economic survival if the advance continues.

on Thursday came on the same day that Mr Abadi announced an offensive to retake the last pocket of Isis territory in Iraq. Iraqi forces backed by a US-led international coalition are pushing on the towns of al Qaim and Rawa, near the western border with Syria.


But the crisis between the central government and the KRG underlines how unstable the region has become, even with Isis nearly defeated. Rivalries and mistrust that were ignored or suppressed during the international campaign against the jihadist group are coming to the fore.


US army colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the US-led coalition against Isis, told the AP that the clashes in Iraq have “negatively impacted coalition efforts to defeat Isis, specifically the inability to move military equipment and supplies to our partners both in Iraq and Syria”.


Tensions between Baghdad and the KRG emerged after the referendum, which was also rejected by neighbouring Iran and Turkey, who fear such a vote could inspire their own Kurdish populations to demand greater self-rule.

Baghdad has been co-ordinating with Tehran and Ankara to heap pressure on the KRG and appears unwilling to back down even as the KRG attempts to make concessions.

Washington and other western capitals, which have armed and trained Iraqi forces and the KRG, did not intervene when Baghdad first began seizing Kurdish-held territory, starting with the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. But they have been increasingly pushing Mr Abadi behind the scenes to rein in his forces. On Wednesday, US officials came out in support of the KRG offer.


It seems the autonomy that was given to them since 1991, will be taken away by Al-Abadi. Al-Abadi clearly told the U.S to mind it's business. It does not seem that the Americans will go for another Mideast war. It will be interesting to see how this will unfold. So far the conflict between the Shia Arab lead government and Kurds keeps brewing. However Al-Abadi does not want to fracture Iraq and this why he is he tried to reach out for the Western regions, who before the Kurds actually wanted to to be independent and became a such with tribal leaders taking place of politicians.