PARIS
(Reuters) - France on Friday called on Iraq’s central government to show
restraint after taking control of the last district in the oil-rich province of
Kirkuk and said Baghdad should take the rights of Kurds fully into accoun
t.
Iraqi forces
are seeking to reestablish Baghdad’s authority over territory which the Kurdish
forces occupied outside the official boundaries of their autonomous region,
mostly seized since 2014 in the course of the war on Islamic State militants.
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“We ask the
federal government to show restraint and fully respect the rights of the
Kurds,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Agnes Romatet-Espagne told reporters.
Tens of
thousands of Kurds have fled Kirkuk and Tuz to the two main cities of the
Kurdish autonomous region, Erbil and Sulaimaniya, according to Kurdish
officials.
The United
Nations expressed concern on Thursday at reports of forced displacement and
destruction of Kurdish homes and businesses, mainly in Tuz.
Romatet-Espagne
said the Kurds also needed to accept a dialogue with Baghdad within the
framework of the constitution.
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