— Reuters picERBIL, Sept 26 — Kurds voted in large numbers in an independence referendum in northern Iraq yesterday, ignoring pressure from Baghdad, threats from Turkey and Iran, and international warnings that the vote may ignite yet more regional conflict. “If [Iraqi Kurd leader Masoud] Barzani and the Kurdish Regional Government do not go back on this mistake as soon as possible, they will go down in history with the shame of having dragged the region into an ethnic and sectarian war,” Erdogan said. Initial results are expected to be announced 24 hours after the vote but an overwhelming "Yes" outcome is not in doubt, with Kurdish flags festooned in all the streets, on cars and outside homes across Iraqi Kurdistan. But with 30 million ethnic Kurds scattered across the region - mainly in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria - Tehran and Ankara fear the spread of separatism to their own Kurdish populations. The US State Department said in a statement it was “deeply disappointed” the KRG decided to conduct the referendum but added that the United States’ “historic relationship” with the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region would not change. Voters should tick yes or no on the ballot asking them just one question in Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Assyrian: “do you want the Kurdistan Region and Kurdistani areas outside the (Kurdistan) Region to become an independent country?” Iran declared a ban on direct flights to and from Kurdistan on Sunday, while Baghdad asked foreign countries to stop direct oil trading with autonomous region and demanded that the KRG hands over control of its international airports and border posts with Iran, Turkey and Syria.
Turkey's president has said Iraqi Kurds could go hungry as a result of the punitive measures it is considering after Monday's independence referendum.