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Kurdish independence dream is over.
After amassing military forces over the past week along Kurdistan borders, Iraqi armed forces launched a major offensive against Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the disputed regions of Kirkuk to gain back control of the key oil assets in the region and an important airbase known as K1. Since the offensive was launched, Iraqi army supported by Shia fighters of Hashd al-Shaabi have taken control over vast regions in Kirkuk, Bashiqa, Khanaqin and Sinjar with little or no resistance from Kurdish fighters. Kurdish forces abandoned lands they had controlled since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, crashing the hopes for an independent Kurdistan with expanded borders. In a stunning collapse, peshmerga units loyal to the Kurdish president, Massoud Barzani, pulled out of the region as Iraqi military and allied Shia forces take control. It shattered ambitions to use the September 25th independence referendum as a leverage against the government in Baghdad.
Barzani, who has been acting as president of Kurdistan for the past two years, made his first statement since the surrender of Kirkuk, claiming the defeat did not mean the end of the independence project that he had championed. He added, “What happened in Kirkuk city was the result of unilateral decisions of some persons within a certain internal political party of Kurdistan, which eventually led to the withdrawal of the Peshmerga forces, as was seen.” Interviews of Peshmerga forces in the region suggests that the top commanders have betrayed soldiers in Kirkuk as they asked them to leave their positions.
Speaking after claiming Kirkuk, Iraqi President Haider al-Abadi declared that Kurdish independence bid is over and the referendum is a thing of the past. He added that he will impose federal authority in every part of Iraq, including the region of Kurdistan.
