KRG welcomes US State Department call for dialogue between Erbil – Baghdad

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Saturday welcomed the US State Department’s call for Erbil and Baghdad to begin a dialogue to resolve their disputes.

As clashes intensified between the Peshmerga against the Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia and Iraqi forces on the outskirts of Erbil Province, the US State Department called on both sides to cease violence and engage in dialogue.

“The [KRG] welcomes the statement of the Department of State,” a KRG statement read. “It also welcomes the call for the immediate cease of clashes between the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the disputed areas and agrees that the ceasefire between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces will be coordinated by the coalition forces.”

“The [KRG] welcomes the immediate start of negotiations with Baghdad on the basis of the Iraqi Constitution and with no preconditions,” the statement added.

The clashes between both Peshmerga and Iraqi forces started at 8:00 a.m. on Friday.

The Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia used US weapons, which were given to the Iraqi forces, and Iranian artilleries to launch a large-scale offensive on the Peshmerga in Pirde town, also known as Altun Kupri, according to the General Command of Peshmerga Forces.

Tensions have dramatically increased between Erbil and Baghdad since the Kurdistan Region’s Sep. 25 independence referendum which the central government of Iraq deemed “unconstitutional.”

On Oct. 16, the Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraqi forces assailed the city of Kirkuk and took over areas which had been protected by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces since the rise of the Islamic State in mid-2014.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany