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October 2, 2017

Iraq Bans Flights to Kurdish Region as Turkey Warns Kurds over Independence
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Iraq's government has banned international flights to Iraqi Kurdistan
and ordered joint military drills along the country's shared border with
Iran, in its latest retaliation for a vote by Iraqi Kurds to form an
independent nation. The move came after nearly 93 percent of voters
approved a referendum a week ago to break away from Iraq. Meanwhile,
Turkey's authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Iraqi
Kurdish leaders would "pay any price" for their move toward
independence.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "They are not forming an independent
state in northern Iraq. On the contrary, they are opening a wound in the
region to twist the knife in. Ignoring this fact will do no good,
neither to us nor to our Kurdish brothers in Iraq or other parties."



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