he Turkish parliament has extended a mandate authorizing the deployment of the country’s military forces in Iraq and Syria in the lead-up to a planned Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraq, Press TV reports.
The vote during the parliament’s emergency session on Saturday comes as Ankara has repeatedly stressed that it would adopt security, political and economic measures against the planned referendum, saying the move will lead to a new crisis in the Middle East.
The semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region is adamant to hold the referendum on September 25 despite regional and international opposition. Critics say partitioning Iraq, which is fighting terrorism, could be the last thing the country needs.
