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Kurdistan pushes for independence referendum

KRG leaders are trying to overcome internal divisions, long-standing disputes with Baghdad, and wary regional powers, as they plan for a non-binding referendum later this year.
Iraqi Kurdish football fans holding a Kurdistan flag bearing a slogan as an Iraqi national flag flies during the AFC Cup final football match between Erbil club and Kuwait SC in the Erbil on Nov. 3, 2012. (SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

ERBIL - The quest for independence has been a perennial feature of political rhetoric in Kurdistan, but now leaders are taking significant new steps in pursuit of that aspiration.

The Kurdistan region's top political parties have agreed to hold a non-binding referendum on independence, while also launching parallel efforts to secure foreign support and to plan for the logistics of statehood.

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