Iraq’s Shi’ite ruling coalition opposes Kurds’ independence referendum
Iraq's Shi'ite ruling coalition would oppose Kurdish plans to hold a referendum on independence after the defeat of Islamic State, its president, Ammar al-Hakim, has said. Speaking to Reuters in an interview in Cairo, Hakim advised the Kurds against any unilateral move to annex a disputed oil-rich region which they had gained during the war […]Mahmoud Mourad and Ulf Laessing report for Reuters:
Iraq's Shi'ite ruling coalition would oppose Kurdish plans to hold a referendum on independence after the defeat of Islamic State, its president, Ammar al-Hakim, has said.
Speaking to Reuters in an interview in Cairo, Hakim advised the Kurds against any unilateral move to annex a disputed oil-rich region which they had gained during the war against the jihadists.
"If this referendum happens, it will be unilateral," said Hakim, who is president of the National Alliance, a coalition of the main Shi'ite political groups including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Dawa party.
