Kirkuk (Iraq), Oct 13 (AFP) The Iraqi army launched anoperation to retake Kurdish-held positions around the disputedoil city of Kirkuk today amid a bitter row with the Kurds overa vote for independence last month.
A senior Kurdish official said thousands of heavily armedfighters had been deployed to resist the offensive "at anycost" and called for international intervention with thefederal government in Baghdad to prevent the confrontationworsening.
The Iraqi army and the Kurdish peshmerga have been keyallies of the US-led coalition in its fight against theIslamic State group and the threat of armed clashes betweenthem poses a major challenge for Western governments.
Ethnically divided but historically Kurdish-majorityKirkuk is one of several regions that peshmerga fighters tookover from the Iraqi army in 2014 when the jihadists sweptthrough much of northern and western Iraq.
But Baghdad is bitterly opposed to Kurdish ambitions toincorporate the oil-rich province in its autonomous region inthe north and has voiced determination to take it back.
"Iraqi armed force are advancing to retake their militarypositions that were taken over during the events of June2014," the general told AFP by telephone, asking not to beidentified.
He said that federal troops had already taken one basewest of Kirkuk this morning after peshmerga fighters withdrewduring the night without a fight.
But a top aide to Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzanivowed that peshmerga forces would defend their positions.
"Thousands of heavily armed peshmerga units are nowcompletely in their positions around Kirkuk," Hemin Hawramisaid. "Their order is to defend at any cost."The orders came after the Kurdish authorities accused theIraqi government of massing forces in readiness for anoffensive to seize Kurdish-held oil fields in the province.
They accused the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) --paramilitary units dominated by Iran-trained Shiite militia --of massing fighters in two mainly Shiite Turkmen areas southof Kirkuk.
Hawrami urged the international community to interveneand call on Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to "order PMFto pull back if he can or if they listen to him".
"No escalation from our side. Just defend and roll themback if they attack," the senior Barzani adviser said.
The surge in tensions comes two weeks after Kurdishvoters overwhelmingly backed independence in a non-bindingreferendum that the federal government condemned as illegal.
Polling was held in the three provinces that have longformed an autonomous Kurdish region as well as several otherKurdish-held areas, including Kirkuk.
Baghdad continues to reject decades-old Kurdish ambitionsto incorporate the city and other historically Kurdish-majority areas in their autonomous region.
The Kurdistan Regional Security Council (KRSC) said thatthe Iraqi army and the PMF had been deploying tanks and heavyartillery to Bashir and Taza Khurmatu.
"These forces are approximately three kilometres frompeshmerga frontline positions," it said.
"Intelligence shows intention to take over nearby oilfields, airport and military base," it added.
Kirkuk province is the location of northern Iraq's mainoil fields and, even though far more crude is now pumped fromthe south, it is bitterly disputed between Baghdad and theKurds.
Kurdish peshmerga yesterday closed the two main roadsfrom Iraq's second city Mosul to the Kurdish cities of Arbiland Dohuk for several hours for fear of an attack in thatarea.
"We call on the Iraqi government to stop the PMFaggression in Kirkuk and north Mosul," the KRSC said.
"Kurdistan continues calling for dialogue and peaceful meansto settle differences."The federal government severed ties between the Kurdishautonomous region and the outside world after the independencereferendum by cutting international air links.
Neighbouring Turkey and Iran, which fear that IraqiKurdish moves towards independence could fuel demands fromtheir own sizeable Kurdish communities, have also threatenedto close their borders to oil exports. (AFP)ZH.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.