Iraqi forces, Peshmerga start new round of talks

Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters yesterday started a second round of talks to resolve a conflict over control of the Kurdistan region's border crossings, Iraqi state TV said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Friday ordered a 24-hour suspension of military operations against Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. The two sides held a first round of talks on Friday and Saturday.

Abadi said the talks are meant to prepare for the peaceful deployment of Iraqi troops at the border crossings with Turkey, Iran and Syria in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Clashes broke out between the two sides after Iraqi forces captured the oil-rich city of Kirkuk from the Peshmerga, in a surprise offensive ordered by Abadi after the Kurds held an independence referendum in northern Iraq on Sept 25.

Kirkuk is part of so-called disputed areas, claimed by both the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, a Kurdish government official said that Iraqi Kurdistan's veteran leader Masoud Barzani would not extend his presidential term beyond Nov 1 His decision came just weeks after a referendum on Kurdish independence backfired and triggered a crisis for Iraq's Kurds who had been enjoying a period of unprecedented autonomy.

Abadi wants to take control of the disputed areas and the border crossings, including one in the Fish-Khabur area through which an oil export pipeline crosses into Turkey. The KRG on Wednesday proposed an immediate ceasefire, a suspension of the referendum result and "starting an open dialogue with the federal government based on the Iraqi constitution" - a call rejected by Baghdad.