baghdad says it will impose its rule instead. if the kurds are to succeed, masrour, grandson of one barzani, son of the other, will need all the clout he's acquired waging war on the group that calls itself islamic state. he believes that has earned kurds the right to a state of their own. but with iraq, iran, turkey, syria and much of the world against them, could this referendum end up delivering the kurds even less than the autonomy that they enjoy now? masrour barzani, in erbil, in iraqi kurdistan, thank you for being here. how has this referendum made things better for the kurds? as you know, we have been having problems with baghdad all along and we have tried every other means to make sure resolve problems peacefully but u nfortu nately resolve problems peacefully but unfortunately the iraqi government did not address all the issues according to the constitution and they were not actually accepting us as equal partners, as part of our deal to be part of iraq and, after trying all other avenues, we have no choice but to resort to a referendum isa choice but to resort to a refe

contested areas in the north so how will this affect the kurds push to secede from baghdad this is inside story. hello again i'm james pays it's a battle for power so from tea and oil and baghdad says it sent its strongest message so far so the kurdish leadership taking just a day to take charge of kurds cook and the all fields around the city last month voters in iraq's kurdish region as well as some disputed areas overwhelmingly opted to secede but baghdad as well as neighbors iran and turkey how fiercely opposed them we'll get to our panel of distress to discuss all less but first this report from charles trafford. the kurdish flag no longer flies in the center of kirkuk. the city now officially back in the hands of the iraqi government its forces but made a rapid advance launched in the middle of the night fifteen hours later the industrial area airports military base and critical all fields were under the control of iraqi forces soon after they marched into the center of the city. iraqi officials were quick to declare victory. the joint military operation was launched at dawn

minutes u.s. secretary of state visits iraq as tensions mount between baghdad and washington of iranian backed fighters. korea tain massacre at least one hundred twenty eight people killed by ice so as they were forced out of the syrian town. financial help from the international community falls short of its target as over a million range of refugees remain in need of life saving a. and loving arms artist promote peace in the battle against gun crime in the united states. and sport the rivalry between christiane and our little messy and name is about to get personal beef is our new award ceremony appoints a kickoff last year it was renowned oh it was named as the world's best player. the u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson has arrived in the iraqi capital baghdad the latest stop on his trip to the middle east and south asia earlier he made an unannounced visit to afghanistan meeting the president ashraf ghani and the country's chief executive at the background base to listen says the u.s. is committed to its presence in the country until the situation is more stable. well the presiden

to kirkuk and neither the k r g over the baghdad government willing to talk face to face unconditionally about the results of the controversial referendum there are. potential new conflict in northern iraq. bill well the shells are saying there of course that all feeds into the debate the very hot debate going on in the kurdish region in iraq following on from the session referendum less a little bit more deeply into that stuff is the head of the department of foreign relations with the kurdistan regional government he joins us now from moustapha kurdistan clearly does not see itself as part of iraq do you not though have a serious problem you are part of iraq and you will stay part of iraq. while in fact we are disappointed the overreaction of the international community and baghdad what baghdad does is exactly collective punishment of the people of color to stand for something that we have done very peacefully and democratically we have committed ourselves to iraq and we will until we went to baghdad in two thousand and three to build a new federal democratic and plural

troops seized care cook and other kurdish areas are x. kurds have been under sanctions from baghdad and are internationally isolated you know obvious funny fish are has the latest from the region also coming up. support for spanish unity spills on to the streets of catalonia now madrid must decide whether to arrest the cut along leaders who proclaimed independence last week we go live to barcelona. the fierce winds and heavy rains lashed central europe leaving six people dead poland and the czech republic hit hard germany also battered overnight as well. with. a low and welcome to the show i'm brian thomas. iraq's autonomous kurdish region defied the central government and held a referendum on independence a month ago kurds overwhelmingly backed a separate state but the move triggered quick retaliation with troops from baghdad seizing key kurdish areas and now president mustard barzani the man who championed independence for decades is stepping down in a moment we'll be hearing from the w's funny fish are who's in the region first let's take a look at how some iraqi kurds have been reac

think on baghdad how will baghdad deal with iraqi kurdistan and will it. amended the promises that prime minister about he is making for the whole country will have to see that is this going to be implemented or not is he capable of bringing in economic plans financial plans and and service plans for the country bring in good politics and national reconciliation with the sunnis all of these things are issues are yet to be seen which we are seeing now is on the face of it a military victory for the iraqi army and the iraqi government and a kind of defeat for the kurds because of the referendum but we have. yet to see how will this and this is not the end the final chapter in this and the process we are still we have to wait for the for the leave for further developments the first step of this is mr bush's only stepping down or stepping aside. as this is on one hand on the other hand i think we have to see how will the government and now in iraqi kurdistan the executive the parliament the judiciary will deal with the challenges that they're faced with today and how will the. future w

prime minister says the kurdish referendum on secession from baghdad is finished and a thing of the past he's calling for dialogue with the kurdish leadership this is iraqi government troops and their allies capture more territory from kurdish forces in the country's north. where the kurdish peshmerga are still in control in the hook. and solomon near the three provinces that make up the semi autonomous kurdish region but they have withdrawn from sin jar mark work here cook and head of kin all of which they took over during the fight against eisel and those areas that were included in the kurdish referendum on the session last month a vote that infuriated baghdad and ultimately triggered its move to take the disputed territories of the president of the kurdistan regional government has called the withdrawal of peshmerga fighters historic treason charles frankfurt has more from erbil. president masoud barzani has released a statement describing what he says was one of the reasons behind this incredibly fast withdrawal of peshmerga fighters from kirkuk and the other disputed territori

overwhelmingly back to separate states but the move triggered quick retaliation troops from baghdad seized key kurdish areas and now president massud barzani a the man who championed independence for decades is stepping down a look now at how some iraqi kurds have been reacting to the news. outrage in the kurdish capital protesters here in erbil forced their way into the parliament building as lawmakers voted to approve barzani's resignation. many here feel he's being mistreated after fighting for kurdish independence for decades. barzani's long struggle for a separate kurdish state culminated in last month's move to secede from iraq he wanted that vote to be his legacy instead it's provoked baghdad to crack down on the kurds. in a defiant address barzani defended the referendum he said the will of the kurdish people was clear. and the referendum can never be erased because these are the votes of three million people. iraq no longer believes in kurdish rights. arac is using the kurdish independence referendum as a pretext to attack kurdistan. the vote for independence has angered th

the iraqi capital baghdad after also making a surprise visit to afghanistan. financial help from the international community falls short of its target as over a million range of refugees remain in need of lifesaving eight also. i'm not angry with my mother i mean she did what she could. she was young when she married a. child bride story of what forced her to run away from home. are still has been accused of carrying out a massacre in the syrian town of aquaria telling what this is say the group conducted a revenge campaign killing at least one hundred twenty eight people before the town's capture by government forces the syrian observatory for human rights says the killings in central homs took place over a three week period i saw the civilians of collaborating with the syrian regime the troops recapture the town from my sil on saturday. they attacked us like animals they came to kill us they killed children and women they broke the arms of the women and burned them before killing them they killed more than one hundred innocent people from the families of both civilians and military

to baghdad then we couldn't find up and the one of their process the price of being a cabinet secretary or president i'd states is pretty much the media a small group of us anyway always know where you are we didn't know where he was from the time he left here around five in the morning to the time he returned just after three he spent about an hour and fifteen hour and twenty minutes with those two leaders for the afghanistan we didn't hear from the afghan leaders but we did hear from rex tillerson afterwards where he sort of sending mixed messages let's listen to what he had to say the president made it clear that you know we're here to stay until we can secure a process of reconciliation. it's not an unlimited commitment he's also made it clear it's not a blank check commitment that's why there's a conditions based commitment but i think if if you consider the current situation in afghanistan and we were talking about this a few minutes ago and you look a few years in the past what circumstances were afghanistan has come quite a distance already in terms of creating a much

the vote triggered a confrontation with the central government of baghdad which responded by seizing huge areas of disputed territory. likely to be accepted by baghdad which is demanding results be an old belief thirty thousand kurds have been displaced from the city of gold could just up and stick terry intentional since iraq and forces took control of it steph decker has more from the iraq turkey border. it's coming down to the detail of language but important language the k r g kurdistan regional government offering to freeze the results of that controversial referendum calling for an immediate cease fire and dialogue between baghdad and erbil now baghdad has made it very clear that there will be no dialogue until the results of that referendum are meaning making it void it's a complicated situation it all has to do with disputed territories land issues who controls what that stretches back years and years and years now one man we've been speaking to his family owns this law and says that nothing none of this can be resolved through military means those debility have been

political analyst ahmed rushdie he's in baghdad joins us now live from there on al jazeera thank you very much for your time sir so on last week the iraqi government was denying that they had intentions to take over oil fields in kirkuk province the prime minister even claim that they were going after i so if there was an operation to be launched and now we have iraqi forces in an operation taking over oil fields apparently in care called what is the objective here and how difficult a battle is this going to be think. well it's according to the agreement between the peshmerga and the iraqi forces starting from i think in two thousand and fifteen is that the iraqi forces will return to their positions before the terms of june two thousand and fourteen before the invasion of isis to the iraqi territories now according to that agreement it's supposed to be the redistribution happened after the liberation of of most of the iraqi soil specially the how we judge which means that according to the sec remained the iraqi forces is going forward to they are looking. in before the tenth of june

independence vote by the kurds was the right move, though it angered baghdad, and triggered all this. by evening, an iraqi victory parade. there is an ethnic mix in the city, and some locals welcomed the troops. but the winner here may be the so—called islamic state, whose enemies in iraq are now fighting each other. 0rla guerin, bbc news, northern iraq. joining me via webcam is lukman faily, the former iraqi ambassador to the united states. he is an iraqi kurd but he disagrees with the decision to hold a referendum on independence. mr faily, the vote on independence is looking like something of a miscalculation by the governing party in irbil, isn't it? yes, certainly. it's miscalculated in understanding the geopolitics, understanding the geopolitics, understanding the geopolitics, understanding the new change in iraqi mood, especially after the liberation of the territories from isis, and also a misunderstanding of the strengths and weaknesses. to me i would say it is a blunder. do you think massoud barzani will be embarrassed by this?” think massoud barzani will be embarrassed by

baghdad road down to where kids were holding the mic. positions until last night and we actually came across the rocky the forces who have advanced there is so that the peshmerga have withdrawn there is no line currently between coke city and the advancing iraqis there are just some some volunteer peshmerga here on the road with no defenses and no no orders and it's it's not clear how the iraqis are going to continue advancing ok so the iraqi forces are bent saying what's the potential for this getting out of control could we be witnessing the start of another military conflict in iraq i mean it is extremely tense here right now and the volunteer go we you know the saying that they're ready to fight even if their leaders and the official peshmerga have withdrawn so i think you know the chances that clashes could break out and escalate a very real and even if only to say that i don't want this to you know descend into another civil conflict in iraq at least two groups are supposed to be allies at least to some degree the kurdish peshmerga and the iraqi forces supposed to be fighting to

from berlin fears grow up new tensions in iraq as government forces from baghdad celebrate their recapture of the northern city of kirkuk from the kurds but the u.n. and the u.s. are appealing for calm. also coming up two weeks ago multis journalist stuff to cover one a she had told police she feared for her life now she's dead why was the journalist known for her investigative investigation into government corruption kill. the champions league hits the pitch on tuesday and it's crunch time for but his legal team likes the they face porto in a must win match that could kickstart their european hopes. hello i'm terry marchant good to have you with us. iraqi government forces say they've taken control of all major oil fields in the disputed northern province of cook it's part of a push by the central government to retake kurdish areas after the kurds voted for independence in a referendum last month baghdad said its forces were defending the integrity of the country. celebrations in kirkuk as iraqi forces rolly and supporters of the iraqi central government couldn't contain their j

established between this kurdish region and baghdad we've heard absolutely nothing so far from president barzani since this book can only be described as a route from these disputed areas and so the pressure on him melts and it seems as if basically the kind of political makeup and the relationship between baghdad and the k r g could potentially change very much in the weeks and months to come when we see what does have to come back to charles and it does develop thank you. he's a research fellow at the middle east institute at the national university of singapore joins me live from baghdad now a very interesting a very quick developments happening in northern iraq it does make you wonder whether baghdad is laying the groundwork for something bigger or are they just sending a very strong signal to bell about that potential intentions. yes i'm not sure how much me there can get on. the disputed territories have been retaken by the iraqi state and i think the events of the last couple of days have shown just the extent to which regional powers will stand in the way of kurdish independence

question is who is coming from baghdad well there have been tensions but certainly a lot of discussions between the family. and the government the government in baghdad about what should happen what kind of ceremony he should have. the government in baghdad wanting for the body to actually. be given an official ceremony as a former president but as we understand it the family preferred for the body to come here so we don't know at this stage who is representing the government but we are told that there is a high level delegation coming from iraq and also coming from iraq and also there are delegations coming from neighboring countries and watching live images. of carrying the body of bani just now. i wonder how are officials actually riving there with international airspace over the kurdish region closed. well that was a question among many people here during the past few days but i mean when the suspension of international flights was announced for both airports the one and. it was made clear by baghdad that only special planes will be allowed. and hear directly and i think this is wha

also heard a call from the central government in baghdad charlie calling on the peshmerga to come and fight are under the umbrella of the iraqi forces what's the likelihood of that happening how loyal are they still to the kurdish regional government and muscle barzani. who despite these reported splits i mean any kind of any kind of implication there that the patient will come under federal control seems at this stage highly unlikely i mean i think it's fair to say that if these agreements are indeed true that should not belie the fact that current that kirkuk is deemed by the k r g by the kurdish regional government and by one place for the forces as being fully theirs despite being in a disputed territory despite the kurds signing up to the two thousand and five constitution article one forty that says that this area is disputed and that some sort of agreement should eventually come to the fore whereby power allocation of power who should control it would be agreed upon i mean the kurds say it's taken the baghdad government too long to act on that constitutional article and they sa

still the instruments of ensuring that all the parties will. to the terms of the. baghdad has denied accusations that it is planning an attack on the autonomous kurdish region of iraq kurdish authorities even night saying they received a warning from the iraqi military of a planned attack on kurdish controlled areas. that is in. northern iraq. this is the last kurdish peshmerga checkpoint on the bill mostly road. the kurdish authorities closed it and another route into nineveh province for a few hours overnight saying they had received messages from the iraqi military that it was planning attacks in kurdish control. pressure is mounting from baghdad on the kurdish regional government ok argy following the recent referendum on secession from iraq many people say they feel punished and afraid the iraqi government is trying to fight the chaos economically wanted to close its land borders they have already closed the international airspace they have cut the federal budget to the k. are cheap it's all coming from a bad government this is not right civilians should not be punished like thi

still fine conditions expected and cooling off across iraq and iran temperatures in baghdad a mere thirty two degrees celsius here in the arabian peninsula will find the wind picking up once again i think of nights a couple of days so humidity continues to drop and temperatures to edging down very slightly thirty six is a nice window how lovely weather conditions here at the moment conditions on the other side the promise of a bit of a risk of lifted dust there for mecca as temperatures reach forty degrees and just dipping below the forty mark as we head through friday now into southern portions of africa we've got one or two showers for the cape look at highs of seventy fine weather conditions across much in the maybe a highs of thirty two when talk. welcome back a quick recap of the stories making headlines supporters of the kenyan opposition had a rider agenda have been rallying in nairobi on the day a top electoral commission of quit over the presidential election rerun police in somalia have opened fire on a crowd of people to stop them protesting about saturday's deadly bombi

kurdish areas iraq's kurds have been under sanctions from baghdad and are internationally isolated funny fosh are has the very latest from the region also coming up. support for spanish unity spills onto the streets of catalonia now madrid must decide whether to arrest the cattle on leaders who proclaimed independence last week. and the united nations warns of a new humanitarian crisis in syria that has images of starving children emerged from a rebel held area east of the capital this mass chaos. plus a powerful storm leaves a trail of destruction across europe fierce winds heavy rains lashing central europe leaving six people dead poland and the czech republic are hard hit germany battered overnight as well. our brian thomas welcome to the show iraq's autonomous kurdish region defied the central government and held a referendum on independence a month ago kurds overwhelmingly backed a separate state but the move triggered a quick retaliation with troops from baghdad seizing key kurdish areas and now president barzani the man who championed independence for decades is stepping down in a

enthusiastically but almost no—one else did. baghdad said it was unconstitutional. the kurds‘ neighbours called it a mistake. the international commmunity rejected it from the start. with the battle against the so—called islamic state still not won, for the west this was a disaster in the making. the ground forces, kurds and arabs, fighting against is, now turned their guns on each other. baghdad quickly took charge. in the rich oilfields around kirkuk, the kurds fled. tonight, in erbil, the violence is now over but the recriminations will continue. president barzani has lost his job but the kurds have lost more. territory, oil, and any hopes of a quick road to independence are all gone. quentin sommerville, bbc news, erbil in northern iraq. quentin somm arlington, 2 news, quentin somm arlington, virginia, this was a huge calculation, a miscalculation for him. the talk of betrayal and treason, did he have to resign? i think it is time for barzani to resign. the parliament renews his term for another two yea rs renews his term for another two years and through some very questionable consultati

baghdad rejected the referendum calling it unconstitutional. again pitting bar sonnie and his peshmerga against iraqi government forces and yet after more than forty years pushing for it can still claim more kurdish autonomy than his legacy. well for more on this we can speak to an expert on kaddish affairs at washington institute thank you very much for speaking to us so as we've been hearing masoud barzani is stepping down from his presidential but does that mean he's lost power good to be with you may in fact he's not stepping down his dipping aside because his term could have been extended along with the extension of the cabinet in the parliament but he's deciding not to extend his presidency in order to give room for negotiations between the carriage either because obviously government and baghdad and he is that for stepping aside because his name and his his office is is very deeply associated with the referendum that's correct in the backlash and anger from baghdad and run were also in washington d.c. so baghdad in particular is not willing to negotiate and maybe he is giving roo

two days tell us about who is attending this funeral especially who's attending from baghdad from the central government. well actually there was a ceremony at the airport where leaders were putting caskets. reason rather in front of us to ask the. iraqi president. the successor to runnymede his childhood friend. of his president barzani we saw the iranian foreign minister and when it comes to baghdad we saw the speaker of the parliament and we saw other. search of the right. right. now. in front as of yesterday there was negotiations between the two sides mr by the one thing the body to first be flown to baghdad and then come here and as we understand it the family refused that request this step toward a comes out what is that an uncertain time for iraqi kurds with the independence referendum. week and the threat of sanctions from the central government in baghdad and neighboring countries iran and turkey would disappear look like today for iraqi kurds. well certainly certainly they're entering a very turbulent time you know we we hear about neighboring countries threatening to close

last month's independence vote by the kurds was the right move, though it angered baghdad and triggered all this. by evening, an iraqi victory parade. there is an ethnic mix in the city, and some locals welcomed the troops. but the winner here may be the so—called islamic state, whose enemies in iraq are now fighting each other. 0rla guerin, bbc news, northern iraq. joining me via webcam is bayan sami abdul rahman, the representative of the pro—independence kurdistan regional government in the united states. and joining us here on bbc news. this is rather embarrassing for the kurdish regional government? —— thank you forjoining us. i wouldn't call it embarrassing. i think it's a disaster for us that kirkuk has been lost in this way. i know that 0rla guerin had another report earlier today, or perhaps yesterday, where she was explaining the shia militias backed by iran, the shia militias backed by iran, the heavy presence of the iraqi military, they are using tanks and humvees and very heavy weapons the peshmerga are not able to counter. we haven't expected this kind of

under sanctions from baghdad and internationally isolated. has the latest from the region also coming up. support for spanish unity spills onto the streets of catalonia now madrid must decide whether to arrest caught along leaders who proclaimed independence last week . united nations is warning of a new humanitarian crisis in syria that is images of starving children emerge from rebel held in the east of the capital damascus. and lewis hamilton seals his fourth formula one world title after a day of drama in mexico city while all the details. i'm brian todd. i'm a savory warm welcome to the show well a month ago iraq's autonomous kurdish region defied the central government in baghdad and held a referendum on independence kurds overwhelmingly backed a separate state but that move triggered quick retaliation with troops from baghdad seizing key cities and oil wells now president masoud barzani the man who has championed independence for decades is stepping down in a moment we'll be hearing from debbie is funny for shar who's been in the region first let's look at the mood amidst iraqi

session referendum baghdad has denied claims by the kurdish regional government that it plans a major attack on the region the kurdish regional government says it fears iraqi government forces could launch an assault on the autonomy northern region let's go live to fred who is in erbil the capital of the region in northern iraq tell us about the situation on the ground for how tense things right now. well it certainly seems as if tension is mounting we're just outside of erbil the checkpoint you can see behind me is the last kurdish peshmerga checkpoint. on the main road between erbil and mosul and this was one of two roads that was closed by the k r g last night following what they say will messages that they received from the iraqi military and shia militia groups saying that they were planning an attack around southwest of the oil rich city of kirkuk and an area north of mosul now the baghdad government denied these messages completely rejecting them but these roads were closed last night they've opened in the last couple of hours but it's a big indication of just how nervous the k

triggered a confrontation with the central government the kurds say they're ready for talks with baghdad and they want to ceasefire kurdish peshmerga forces have been fighting government troops near a key oil pipeline stephanie decker has more from the iraqi turkey border it's coming down to the detail of the language but important language the k r g kurdistan regional government offering to freeze the results of that controversial referendum calling for an immediate cease fire and dialogue between baghdad and erbil now baghdad has made it very clear that there will be no dialogue until the results of that referendum are meaning making it void it's a complicated situation it all has to do with disputed territories land issues who controls what that stretches back years and years and years now one man who have been speaking to his family owns this land says that nothing none of this can be resolved through military means. those debility have been a good we want happiness we want brotherhood there's been enough killing among us war solves nothing this needs to be resolved through dialogue

baghdad in disputed areas. baghdad has almost seized kirkuk from kurdish control. cnn's ben wedeman was there during the fighting on tri. he joins us live. ben, if you could, explain to our viewers what you witnessed, what you saw. >> well, what we saw is really the most serious outbreak of fighting between iraqi forces and the kurdish peschmarga that's taking place since the beginning of the week when iraqi forces took the oil-rich town of kirkuk. since then, we've seen tensions ratcheting up, unprecedented really since the days of saddam hussein. overnight, we understand the guns have gone silent, but only for now. weapons once fired at isis now fired at an ally turned enemy. early friday, iraqi troops including armed shia paramilitaries entered the town north of kirkuk pushing kurdish forces ever further back. this is the most serious fighting yet for the two sides and doesn't bode well for a country that after 3 1/2 years of bitter combat has come close to defeating isis. this is the beginninging of a war betwe kurdistan and baghdad. we won't allow them to take our land. sporadi

have been growing between the k r g and the central government in baghdad after iraqi kurds voted overwhelmingly for secession in a referendum last month. well you know what that so meusel fighters have been allowed to enter her cook they were fighters who are considered very dangerous and who pledged allegiance to or who have confessed to have fought with a group of women and we asked the kurdistan region and we ask her caucus which is on there to federal authority as well as we have asked the minister of interior to send officials took her coke to get these terrorists and investigate them and these are terrorists who have committed crimes against civilians in who region and other areas they have to be punished according to iraqi law and. stratford has the latest from a bail in northern iraq. it was late wednesday evening when according to the kurdish regional security council they said that they had received messages from the iraqi military and members of the shia militia groups that they were planning an attack in the area around the oil rich city of kirkuk and north of mosul a

of civilians flee the city the kurds threaten to make baghdad pay a heavy price for their victory. and with the champions league hitting the pitch on tuesday it's crunch time for bonus league team leipsic they face porto it's a must win match that could kickstart their european hopes. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us she was multis best known investigative journalist yesterday she was killed by a car bomb duff make her want to leech it was known for her reports accusing the government of corruption she exposed what she said were links between government officials and secret bank accounts in panama on maltese prime ministers yosef must cut called the murder a barbaric act he also acknowledged that she was one of his harshest critics. definitely cairo on a girlie thiers car exploded just after she had driven away from her home in moscow a town outside boxes kept of the latter the force of the blast flung her vehicle over a wall into a field the journalist had filed a report with the police two weeks ago but she was receiving threats some three thousand people gathered

are safe there is no security in places like baghdad we prefer to be with them and i. there is a sense of newfound purpose and identity among the soldiers here ever since the fall of saddam hussein in two thousand and three this area was taken by various armed groups including and i and the tribes here frustrated by the lack of support from the central government in baghdad had only one choice left just seek protection from the kurds. really man i career soldier still remembers when it was too dangerous for anyone in uniform to be up the streets he survive several attempts. i said yes to the referendum and yes to independence i used to say my country's iraq united. but after the central government ignored us and let iceland areas i changed my mind. the tribal leaders tried to kurdish president masoud barzani for help now they fully backed the referendum for secession and. joining the kurds doesn't mean we forego all arab roots the kurds who represent the real. sectarian with baghdad we are less than nothing not even second class citizens. this border area was controlled by the ir

central government in baghdad so the kurds now saying they're ready for talks with baghdad and they want to ceasefire kurdish peshmerga forces have been fighting government troops near a key oil pipeline stephanie decker has more from near iraq's border with syria. well it's a very unexpected statement really because the k r g the kurdistan regional government has always said the results of the river and m were a red line the demand from baghdad was that the results needed to be before any dialogue to take place so now what we have is an offer from the regional government here saying let's freeze the and i think this kind of language is important see what that means whether baghdad accept it let's freeze the results let's have an immediate cease fire and let's go into dialogue now let me just explain to you where we are which i think has some part of that we are in northern iraq of course but it's at the point of triangle where there was fighting yesterday and i just behind us those mountains you see around two kilometers is syria and then a little further north you have turkey so t

channels of dialogue should be set up with baghdad we're expecting this statement to be issued by barzani we understand according to local media that it is going to call for unity amongst all the kurdish factions and kurdish parties here but people here want answers they want to know why this is happened after such a hard struggle and not to put too fine a point on it there are many many analysts saying that president barzani is now facing one of the biggest if not the biggest political crisis of his career. in erbil in northern iraq thank you very much for that johnny let's not explore this a bit further with face. who is a former iraqi ambassador to the united nations and director of the center for the study of the middle east in indiana university he joins us from washington d.c. thank you very much for your time sir so we have iraqi government here taking areas that have been disputed but are they going to go further in your opinion in order to perhaps to further weaken the kurdish government just a few hours ago. tweeted that the iraqi army will end bill in the next forty eig

the operation comes weeks after kurds voted to declare independence from baghdad. also coming up scores of people are still missing after saturday's powerful truck bomb in the somali capital of mogadishu the explosion killed hundreds of people at the death toll may rise even further. and they've rippled the fabric of space and time scientists have been discussing their existence for hundreds of years to get ready to find out why gravitational waves are so important. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program thanks for joining us iraqi government forces have moved into the disputed city of kirkuk in a bold move to retake land from the kurds witnesses say that iraqi troops have taken over the governor's headquarters and seized a military base and oil and gas fields. footage from the city shows non kurdish residents out celebrating in the streets welcoming those soldiers thousands of kurds are said to have fled the city officials have called the iraqi advance and unprovoked attack tension has been high in the kurdish region following a controversial independence referendum last month.

military move comes just weeks after kurds voted to declare independence from baghdad a move that has been rejected by kurdish neighbors and allies also coming up scores of people are still missing after saturday's powerful truck bomb in the somali capital mogadishu the explosion killed hundreds of people the death toll is expected to rise further and they ripple in the fabric of space and tom scientists have been discussing their existence for a hundred years so get ready to find out why gravitational waves exist and why they're so important. i'm worried gough it's good to have you with us iraq's military is reporting progress tonight but not in the fight against so-called islamic state iraqi forces have moved into the disk. did city of kirkuk in a boat campaign to retake land from the kurds thousands of kurds are said to have already fled the city of tension has been high in the kurdish region following a controversial independence referendum held last month kurdish officials have called the iraqi advance a quote unprovoked attack none kurdish residents in the city are welcoming

from baghdad a move that has been rejected by kurdish neighbors and kurdish alums also coming up in a v.w. exclusive we meet a man he was helping the authorities in germany to hunt down fighters for a so-called islamic state. and scores of people are still missing after saturday's powerful truck bomb in the somali capital mogadishu the explosion killed hundreds of people and the death toll is expected to rise even further. plus the dawn of a new era in astronomy is at hand and that's what physicists tell us scientists have been discussing the existence of gravitational waves for a hundred years and now they have proved for the first time that they exist get ready to find out why these waves are so important. i'm burnt off it's good to have you with us iraq's military is reporting progress tonight but not in the fight against islamic state iraqi forces have moved into the disputed city of kirkuk in a bold campaign to retake land from the kurds thousands of kurds are said to have already fled the city tension has been high in the kurdish region following a controversial independence ref

is the response from baghdad after the kurds of course held the independence referendum last month we got these pictures they came in minutes ago actually from the center of kirkuk the iraqi army is there in large numbers along with the shia militias who are allied with them not so visible the kurdish peshmerga forces who were reported to have put up a little resistance as we said the people of kirkuk also left the city in their thousands and we're going to hear more of their stories in a moment total control was declared when iraqi military forces took over the government building in the central city and prime minister hyderabadi ordered the iraqi flag be hoisted so. let's take a closer look now what the iraqi forces have snatched up how they did it in pretty short time that government building i was talking about there it is right in the center of kirkuk and these arrows show the direction in which the iraqi forces and the allied militia pushed into the area from the south from the west as they did they took over there the k. one military airbase which is of course critical and then

a teaser of the iraqi government following last month's controversial succession referendum baghdad has denied claims by the kurdish regional government that its planned so it plans a major attack on the current cook region the k r g says it fears iraqi government forces could launch an assault on the autonomous northern areas charles transferred has more from erbil in northern iraq. this is the main road between erbil and mosul and it's one of two roads that were closed last night by the kurdish regional government following what it says were messages that it received from the iraqi military and the house of the shabby those of the shia militia groups saying that there were planned attacks around the oil rich city of kirkuk and northern mosul now this road was opened up again this morning but it's an indication of just how nervous the k.l. argy are these mounting threats from the baghdad government also in the last couple of hours news out of turkey a spokesperson for president russet tiber the one saying that turkey was going to gradually close its land border with at the k r g ei

what kind of relationship will they have with the central government in baghdad. well they have to have a relationship with the central government because you know it is still one country it's a semi autonomous region we know at the moment for example one of the backlashes of that controversial referendum is the fact that the federal authority of baghdad is going to take over the control of the border crossings that the k r g has been in charge of since two thousand and three so talks are going on at the moment not right now because it's late but that was the second day that they took part in mosul between the rockies between the peshmerga going to the all spaces of the international coalition there seems to be an agreement just in the last couple of hours around fish which is that border crossing of iraq into syria that federal forces will be deployed there it's not a question when it comes to baghdad this is what they're going to do so dialogue is going to have to remain open both sides have said they want dialogue so i think you know the relationship with baghdad perhaps at the momen

government the kurds say they're ready for talks with baghdad and they want to cease fire kurdish peshmerga forces have been fighting government troops near a key oil pipeline stephanie decker has more from near iraq's border with syria. well it's a very unexpected statement really because the k r g the kurdistan regional government has always said the results of the river and i'm we're a red line the demand from baghdad was that the results needed to be in knowledge before any dialogue to take place so now what we have is an offer from the regional government here saying let's freeze the and i think this kind of language is important see what that means whether baghdad accept it let's freeze the results let's have an immediate cease fire and let's go into dialogue now let me just explain to you where we are which i think has some part of that we are in northern iraq of course but it's at the point of triangle where there was fighting yesterday and i just behind us those mountains you see around two kilometers is syria and then a little further north you have turkey so this is a crucial poi