Kirkuk: UN Security Council calls for escalation

The UN Security Council called on Wednesday 18 October to escalate after resumption by Iraqi army of almost all areas whose Kurdish fighters had seized since 2003, particularly in oil province of Kirkuk.

In a unanimous statement by its fifteen members, Security Council expresses its concern and calls on all parties "to refrain from any threat and use of force, and to engage in constructive dialogue towards path of deescalation" .

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Postponed elections

The Iraqi armed forces stated that y had achieved ir objectives in Kirkuk region, following a forty-eight-hour operation in areas outside of autonomous Kurdistan. These were taken by Peshmergas (Kurdish fighters) in 2014, during chaos born of lightning offensive of jihadists of Islamic State Organization (EI).

Elections, presidential and legislative, originally scheduled for 1 November in Kurdistan were postponed because of this operation.

The Security Council, which had spoken in September against Kurdistan independence referendum, reaffirms on Wednesday in its declaration its commitment to unity of Iraq, emphasizing importance of concentrating all efforts on fighting Aiming to defeat EI.