Iraqi Kurds will push for independence after Mosul is freed — PM
Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) prime minister says the Kurds will renew their push for an independent state after Mosul is liberated from IS — which may take up to three months, given the quick gains made on the approaches to the city.
In a Friday interview to the German daily Bild, Nechervan Barzani said Kurdistan’s authorities are set to renew their push for independence once Mosul is retaken from terrorists.
“The time has long been ripe for it, but we are currently concentrating on the fight against Daesh,” Barzani said, using the Arabic pejorative for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group.
As soon as Mosul is liberated, Kurds will meet with “partners in Baghdad and talk about our independence.” Barzani stressed that Iraqi Kurds have been waiting for a chance at independence “for too long.”
“We are not Arabs, we are our own Kurdish nation... At some point there will be a referendum on the independence of Kurdistan, and then we will let the people decide.”
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