Baghdad gives ultimatum on Kirkuk pullback: Kurds

Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Oct 14 (AFP) Baghdad has set apre-dawn tomorrow deadline for Kurdish forces to abandonpositions in the disputed oil province o...
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Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Oct 14 (AFP) Baghdad has set apre-dawn tomorrow deadline for Kurdish forces to abandonpositions in the disputed oil province of Kirkuk they tookduring the fightback against the Islamic State group, a seniorKurdish official said.

The reported ultimatum comes as thousands of Iraqi troopsand allied militia are locked in an armed standoff withKurdish Peshmerga fighters near ethnically divided buthistorically Kurdish-majority Kirkuk.

Tensions have soared between the erstwhile allies in thewar against IS since a Kurdish vote for independence lastmonth, drawing urgent appeals for calm from the US-ledcoalition supporting the campaign.

"The deadline set for the Peshmerga to return to theirpre-June 6, 2014, positions will expire during the night," theKurdish official told AFP, asking not to be identified.

Asked at what time, he said at 2am (local time) tomorrow.

The official's comments came as Iraqi President FuadMasum, who is himself a Kurd, was holding urgent talks withKurdish leaders in the city of Sulaimaniyah in the south ofthe autonomous Kurdish region.

No statements have emerged from the meetings.

Iraqi troops took over formerly Kurdish-held positions inthe south of Kirkuk province yesterday, including in themainly Shiite-Turkmen town of Taza Khurmatu.

In June 2014, IS fighters swept through vast areas northand west of Baghdad, prompting many Iraqi army units todisintegrate and Kurdish forces to step in.

They did so primarily in historically Kurdish-majorityareas they had long sought to incorporate in their three-province autonomous region in the north against the strongopposition of Baghdad.

The Kurds currently control the city of Kirkuk and threemajor oil fields in the province, which account for asignificant share of the regional government's oil revenues.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said yesterday thatWashington was working to reduce tensions between Iraqifederal and Kurdish forces, urging them to remain focused onthe war against jihadists.

"We are trying to tone everything down and to figure outhow we go forward without losing sight of the enemy, and atthe same time recognising that we have got to find a way tomove forward," he told reporters.

"Everybody stay focused on defeating ISIS. We can't turnon each other right now. We don't want to go to a shootingsituation," he added, using an alternative acronym for IS.

(AFP) HMBMRJ.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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