page_title: 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum
section_title: Immediate reaction from Kurdistan and Iraq
hierarchical_section_title: 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum / Aftermath / Immediate reaction from Kurdistan and Iraq
caption_attribution_description: English: Kurdish demonstration at Schuman, Brussels, 25 October 2017
context_page_description: An independence referendum for Kurdistan Region of Iraq was held on 25 September 2017, with preliminary results showing approximately 93.25 percent of votes cast in favour of independence. Despite reporting that the independence referendum would be non-binding, the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government characterised it as binding, although they claimed that an affirmative result would trigger the start of state building and negotiations with Iraq rather than an immediate declaration of independence of Kurdistan. The referendum's legality was rejected by the federal government of Iraq.
  It was originally planned to be held in 2014 amidst controversy and dispute between the regional and federal governments. Calls for Kurdish independence had been going on for years, with an unofficial 2005 referendum resulting in 98% voting in favor of independence. These longstanding calls gained impetus following the Northern Iraq offensive by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant during the Iraqi Civil War in which Baghdad-controlled forces abandoned some areas, which were then taken by the Peshmerga and controlled de facto by the Kurds.
context_section_description: Following the referendum, wild celebrations erupted in Iranian Kurdistan and two days of pro-independence demonstrations, which included the singing of the anthem of the Republic of Mahabad, occurred in the Kurdish cities of Baneh, Sanandaj and Mahabad, leading to mass arrests.
  The Kurdistan Regional Government started making plans for state building and future negotiations with Iraq before a declaration of independence for the Republic of Kurdistan would be issued. Barzani created a new "political leadership" body to prepare for independence; however, three Kurdish parties, including the PUK, have refused to join it.
  The Iraqi government threatened to send troops to Kirkuk, a city with rich oil deposits. Troops also blocked routes between Mosul and Dahuk on the day prior to the referendum.
  Four days after the referendum, the Iraqi government stopped most international flights into the two international airports of Irbil and Sulaimaniya. Humanitarian, military and diplomatic flights were not included in the ban. This action followed Iraq's demand that the Kurdistan Regional Government hand over control of the airports.
  Five days after the referendum, the Iraqi and Iranian governments announced that the Iraqi and Iranian armies would hold joint border drills at crossings on Iran's border with the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region. Iranian tanks were deployed near the border with Kurdistan Region, but the move has been seen as mere posturing. Iran also closed its common border with the Kurdistan Region.
  Kurdish businesses across Iraq suffered retaliatory attacks.
caption: Demonstration in support of the independence of Kurdistan at Schuman in Brussels, Belgium, 25 October 2017
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