Grand Ayatollah Sistani urges Iraq to protect Kurds amid tensions

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has called on the Iraqi government to protect the Kurdish population in the north amid rising tensions between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region.

According to Press TV, Ayatollah Sistani’s call was issued at the Friday prayer in the holy city of Karbala by one of his representatives.

The Grand Ayatollah called the presence of the Iraqi forces in Kirkuk a victory for all Iraqis.

He also warned against any retaliatory moves, and urged Kurdish leaders to cooperate with the federal government on the basis of Iraqi law.

The top religious leader stated that the country’s Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmens had to move shoulder to shoulder towards resolving standing problems.

Earlier in the day, security said Iraqi forces took control of the last district in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, which was still in the hands of Kurdish Peshmerga militants following a three-hour battle.

Forces partaking in the operation to recapture Altun Kupri comprised Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service units, Shia-dominated Popular Mobilization Unites and the Federal Police.

The Peshmergas withdrew from the district after battling the advancing Iraqi troops with machineguns, mortars, and rocket propelled grenades, security sources said.

Ayatollah Sistani had also voiced opposition to the referendum. He had warned against the unfavorable repercussions of separation and division in the Iraqi nation, stressing that this would pave the way for foreign interference in the affairs of the country.

Following the vote, Baghdad imposed a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region and called for a halt to its independent crude oil sales.

SS