Iraq orders 24-hour ceasefire in areas disputed with Kurds

Bloomberg

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi ordered the suspension of military operations in areas disputed with the country’s Kurdish minority, the first sign of a rapprochement since their vote for
independence last month.
The 24-hour ceasefire will allow a joint Iraqi and Kurdish team to deploy federal Iraqi forces to the areas, Abadi said in a statement on Twitter. The decision would “prevent confrontation and bloodshed between the sons of a single nation,” Sumaria TV cited Abadi’s office as saying.
More than 90 percent of Iraqi Kurds voted for independence in the non-binding referendum, which was fiercely opposed by Baghdad as well as neighboring countries such as Turkey and Iran, fearing it could embolden their own Kurdish minorities. The federal government sent troops this month to retake disputed areas that Kurdish Peshmerga fighters had seized in 2014 after IS routed Iraqi forces, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
“We are at the very beginning of a serious negotiating process,” said Sami Nader, head of the Beirut-based Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, adding that the decision is in line with calls by the United Nations to reach an agreement. “Abadi can now capitalize on his gains in future elections, he protected the constitution and the integrity of Iraq.” Abadi this week demanded the annulment of the independence vote, after the Kurdistan Regional Government said it would be prepared to freeze the result in exchange for an immediate ceasefire and talks with the central government “on the basis of the constitution.”