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Jango Fett
SADR SAYS HE WOULD CONGRATULATE KURDS IF THEY DECLARE INDEPENDENCE
SULAIMANI – Iraqi Shia political leader Moqtada al-Sadr said on Tuesday that he would congratulate Kurdistan Region’s leaders if they declared independence from Iraq.
Sadr, who is head of the Sadr Movement, said Iraq would become “a good neighbor” to the Kurds if they formed their own state.
“We have told our Kurdish brothers that if they announce an independent Kurdistan in the country, we should become two good and peaceful neighbors for each other,” Sadr said.
His statement came after a question by Shia supporters about recent events in the town of Tuz Khurmatu where violent clashes broke out between Kurdish and Shia paramilitary forces on Nov. 12 after militiamen crossed a Kurdish-controlled checkpoint.
Tuz Khurmatu, located some 180 km north of Baghdad, lies in an area of disputed territory between the Kurdish-administered north and southern regions under the central government, with an ethnically diverse population of Turkmen, Kurds and Arabs.
Peshmerga and Shia paramilitaries on Nov. 16 reached a preliminary agreement on ending violence in Tuz Khurmatu, where over 20 people were killed in the clashes.
Sadr said Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen should help each other as “brothers” and focus on a unified effort against Islamic State (IS) militants in the country.
(NRT)
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