{"id":362453,"date":"2017-10-16T18:09:11","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T18:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=362453"},"modified":"2017-10-16T18:09:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T18:09:11","slug":"iraqi-forces-enter-kirkuk-as-kurds-flee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/10\/iraqi-forces-enter-kirkuk-as-kurds-flee\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraqi forces enter Kirkuk as Kurds flee"},"content":{"rendered":"
Iraqi government forces have entered central Kirkuk after taking key installations outside the disputed city from Kurdish fighters.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people fled the city ahead of the Iraqi advance.<\/p>\n
The Iraqi military moved into Kirkuk three weeks after the Kurdistan Region held a controversial independence referendum.<\/p>\n
They are aiming to retake areas under Kurdish control since Islamic State militants swept through the region.<\/p>\n
Residents of Kurdish-controlled areas, including Kirkuk, overwhelmingly backed secession from Iraq in a 25 September vote.<\/p>\n
While Kirkuk is outside Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish voters in the city were allowed to take part.<\/p>\n
Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, had denounced the vote as unconstitutional. But the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) insisted it was legitimate.<\/p>\n
US officials said they were “engaged with all parties in Iraq to de-escalate tension”.<\/p>\n