page_title: Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
section_title: 2017 Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum and ensuing clashes
hierarchical_section_title: Iraqi–Kurdish conflict / Aftermath / 2017 Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum and ensuing clashes
caption_attribution_description: English: Pro-Kurdistan referendum and pro-Kurdistan independence rally at Franso Hariri Stadiu, Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
context_page_description: The Iraqi–Kurdish conflict consists of a series of wars and rebellions by the Kurds against the central authority of Iraq during the 20th century, which began shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and lasting until the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Some put the marking point of the conflict beginning to the attempt by Mahmud Barzanji to establish an independent Kingdom of Kurdistan, while others relate to the conflict as only the post-1961 insurrection by the Barzanis. The conflict lasted until the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, though tensions between the Kurdish autonomy and the central Iraqi government have continued.
  The first chapter of the Iraqi–Kurdish dispute followed the end of World War I and the arrival of British forces. Mahmud Barzanji began secession attempts in 1919 and in 1922 proclaimed the short-lived Kingdom of Kurdistan. Though Mahmud's insurrections were defeated, another Kurdish sheikh, Ahmed Barzani, began to actively oppose the central rule of the Mandatory Iraq during the 1920s.
context_section_description: After holding an independence referendum on 15 October 2017, Iraqi authorities warned the KRG to void and cancel the result of the referendum, but the Kurdistan authority did not do as they were told. Then, after intense preparation between Iraq, Iran, and Turkey, the Iraqi army conquered the area which is now called a disputed territory.
caption: Pro-independence rally in Erbil in September 2017
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