Iraqi vice president warns of ‘civil war’ over Kurdish-held Kirkuk

Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi says there could be a “civil war” over the Kurdish-administered city of Kirkuk if talks over Kurdish independence are left unresolved.

Allawi, in an interview with The Associated Press, says he urges Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, as well as Iraq’s central government and its Iranian-backed militia forces, to show restraint and resolve in disputes over the oil-rich city.

Kirkuk was included in a controversial Kurdish referendum on support for independence in September. The ethnically mixed city has been administered by Kurdish forces since 2014, even though it falls outside the autonomous Kurdish region in northeast Iraq.

Allawi says Kirkuk could be the “flashpoint” that ignites conflict in northern Iraq.

Allawi says he opposes Kurdish independence.

— AP