but for mr barzani this has been a huge blow. it was a huge gamble and it has failed for the moment and left him in a difficult situation and critics within kurdistan were able to use this and also believed it was something not in the interests of kurdistan and needed to act and so he has faced opposition outside for the vote and when the vote has not achieved what hath been wanted, very quickly inside kurdistan. he has announced his intention, saying that his mandate expires on wednesday. there was meant to be an election on wednesday, but that has been put off for eight months. he told parliament, i cannot continue in this role, you need to distribute my powers, so we do not have any power vacuum while we await the elections, in which he said he will not stand. there is a sense of the changing of the guard with the old generation seemingly passing away, notjust him but his great rival. who did and there was a huge three—day funeral in kurdistan. as the referendum was going on. it was symbolic it happened. these are the import

ithink mr barzani has independence. certainly. ithink mr ba rzani has been independence. certainly. ithink mr barzani has been a symbol of kurdish nationalism for decades. just his because he resigned from his position, he retired from kurdish politics, he said he will remain at pesch murderfighter politics, he said he will remain at pesch murder fighter and will fight for kurdish independence. this could leave the kurdistan regional government headed by barzani, able to ta ke government headed by barzani, able to take a more pragmatic approach to baghdad and neighbouring countries. repair relations with baghdad as well as ankara ante run. what might it lead to poor the wider region? well as ankara ante run. what might it lead to poor the wider region7m is really are unclear what it might lead to in the region. the kurdistan regional government is trying its best to stop the bloodshed that has been going on for the last ten days. it wants to make sure the conflict will not come towards the kurdish cities and i think there will be some kind of ceasefire between the kurdish forces and

he told me the referendum was mr barzani's biggest gamble. he said before the referendum, in the run—up to it, that he would not stand again and his mandate runs out this wednesday but i think the sense is that he would not have been stepping down now in the way that he has if it were not for the fact that the referendum which was his biggest gamble, i mean, the great dream of the kurds has been for 100 years, he felt he might be the man to achieve this. he felt the kurds were in a strong enough position that perhaps this would be the time. he miscalculated, baghdad reacted very strongly and the kurds have been pushed into a much weaker position. i think it is the result of the referendum but there are other issues around him as well, which make him somebody who maybe is not as universally popular as he might once have been. we heard him express a lot of anger today. who we see aiming his ire at? pretty much everyone. the international community for not backing the kurds. he said as you said in the introduction that nobody backed them, exce

in ankara is that ancora is not feeling having those warm feelings towards mr barzani and his government anymore ancora has always been the biggest supporter of parsimony and his political achievements in k r g but it seems for the upcoming term. will avoid its support to mr barzani but of course who will turkey's support in k r g is another question mark who can be a better ally than most of the for ancora is another question mark both sides are that it catered to continue their joint military exercises that they have been conducting at the borders and they are going to they said that they're going to continue their fight against terror organizations like ours. but there is one thing there isn't actually there is one concern but she is still a crisis between a bag that an anchor and still there isn't there isn't any specific solution about that back that hasn't been hasn't been having a very strong stance and saying that they want but she comes with an iraqi territory but for now but she seems. for as a very important military camp that has to be preserved within in iraqi borders so rac

saying that all of this what you are looking at at the moment is down to mr barzani of course who wanted to push for that's a set. vote on full independence for the kurdish region they want to call it kurdistan it is not lost on anyone however that what you're looking at the place you're looking at right now it was only allowed to take part in that's a session vote the night before the vote took place maybe worth recycling again that the vote was massively in favor of independence between ninety two and ninety three almost precisely one thousand three percent of the people who took part in the ballot said yes we want to become an independent state and also there that m.p. reacting to that news that turkey is ready to cooperate with baghdad to end the presence of the backstory to that of course is that turkey has had an ongoing highly negative situation with the p k k and that's playing out in real time as well day to day across the border in syria because of what turkey is doing across the border there in its efforts to take on the p.k. kate will monitor that story for you and get you ri

in a defiant television address, mr barzani said that nobody had stood up for the kurds after their vote on independence last month, and accused his rivals of treason. quentin sommerville's report from erbil contains flash photography. for the kurds, it is an end without triumph. as protesters attempted to storm its parliament, behind closed doors, an era was coming to an end. inside, the deputy speaker read the president's resignation letter. translation: i refuse to continue in the position of president and i will serve kurdistan as a peshmerga and i will continue to fight for the rights of the kurds and preserve the achievements of the kurdish people. president massoud barzani had hoped to leave office as father of an independent nation of kurdistan, but instead the kurdish region and his legacy are diminished. in a televised address, he spoke of betrayal. "3 million votes for kurdistan independence created history and cannot be erased," he said. "nobody stood tall beside us other than our mountains." in september, the 71—year—old leader gambled big on a referendum, voting to sepa

barzani said that what happened in quetta cook was as a result of what he described as a unilateral decisions made by some officials now this is as i say perfectly consistent with some of the allegations that have been made by other members of his party the k t p against senior figures in the p u k policy the general come on earlier today described what he said was historical treason by certain members of the p u k and that's why the peshmerga withdrew so quickly from kirkuk an interesting lee a former senior aide to the p k party is demanding that a transitional government be set up and that what he describes as more effective channels of dialogue a stablished between the k r g and baghdad i mean all indications are off to this last quite incredible two days of this sudden superfast withdrawal of these troops from areas that the k r g had that vision which would play an intake will paulton a future independent state that president barzani could well be described as facing one of the biggest political challenges of his career. concerning those key installations that we've been talki

we did recommend to mr. barzani, we have great relationships with and great respect noor thfor th is not the time. they're recovering from this horrible trauma against isis and the fight against isis and the subversion in iraq that complicates the heck out of things and turkey's difficult relationship with turkish populations and how that is playing out in northeastern syria. this is not the time to do this we thought. so, of course, we are where we are now. as you know, talabani passed away recently. god rest his sole. so part of what is complicating this is a power struggle within the puk and the abiflity of the iranians to take advantage of all this. iran is very good at pitting communities against each other. this is something they share with groups like isis, with al qaeda. you know, they pit communities against each other because they use tribal and ethnic and sectarian conflicts to gain influence by portraying themselves as a patron of protector of one of the parties in the conflict. and then they use

we did recommend to mr. barzani we have great relationships with vinegar spec for that this is not the time. we are just emerging from this horrible trauma of isis fighting in sizes in the iranian subversion of iraq complicates it and turkeys difficult relationship with the turkish population now that is playing out in eastern syria. this was not the time to do this we thought but of course we are where we are now. sula money passed away and god rest his soul and it's a power struggle and the ability of the iranians take advantage of all of this. iran is very good at pitting communities. this is something they share with groups like isis with al qaeda. they pit communities against each other because they use tribal and ethnic and sectarian complex to gain influence by portraying themselves as a patron or protector of one of the parties in the conflict and then they use that indication to come in and help to advance their agenda and in iran's case i think it's a hegemonic design. and it's based on improving a

definitely for the president mr barzani this is going to be a blow because he's been promising the people that kirkuk should be part of the iraqi state states that he wants to make and that's not going to be possible now could it have been anticipated that the past would fracture in the way that they reportedly have now fractured. well the peshmerga has never been really one army it's always been split between katy forces and be ok forces and then you have some small uranian and forces as well that are all part of these big. army that was fighting against isis. so the fact that it was never one also has an effect because politically there has been a split between b. and b. ok for a long time day they fought a civil war in the ninety's and still that animosity is being filled i live here in arabic and when people talk about the money or where it be ok is that's never almost never in a very positive sense so the splits might even mean if this blame game is really serious that there will be a real split between the two arab male and the second the search down do hope on the wrong side and. s

mr barzani told a closed—door session of parliament he was resigning, as the fallout from the region's independence referendum continues. kurds voted overwhelmingly for independence last month in a poll disputed by baghdad. protesters have forced their way into the regional parliament to decide how to distribute masoud bharzani's presidential powers. let me show you some pictures of masoud bharzani he was addressing the iraqi regional parliament as we speak, he has been speaking for about 20 or 25 minutes in erbil. it isa about 20 or 25 minutes in erbil. it is a valedictory address, we were talking earlier on the bbc news channel as the news came through, in many ways his strategy has failed and he called the many ways his strategy has failed and he callet he 3 many ways his strategy has failed and he callet he got the mandate he referendum, he got the mandate he was hoping for but the implication of what he said today and what has been said today is that he only wa nted been said today is that he only wanted it as an opportunity to use it as wanted it as an opportunity to use itasa wa

we did recommend to mr. barzani, with great relationships with, great respect for, that this is not the time as the region is emerging from this horrible trauma of isis in the fight against isis and iranian subversion with that iraq the competent the heck out of things. and turkeys difficult relationship with kurdish populations and now that's playing out in northeastern city. this is not the time to do this. but, of course, we are where we are now. as you know he passed away recently in god rest his souls and condolences to those of us with part accompanied this is a power struggle within the uk and the building of their maintenance to take advantage of all of this. what does iran iran to? iran is very good at pitting commits against each of the big this is something to share with groups like isis, with al-qaeda. they pit canoes against each other because they use tribal and ethnic and sectarian conflicts to gain influence by portraying themselves as a patron, a protector of one of the parties of the confli

i was going to call a sham elections shambolic iraqi kurdish president mr burns on is set to announce his resignation at a sitting of the region's parliament on sunday president barzani has been under pressure to step down or own last month's controversial secession referendum is that he will not renew his term when it expires on the first of november a session a vote which the iraqi government says was illegal led to days of fighting between iraqi and kurdish forces the renegade general holly for have to who controls eastern libya has ordered an investigation after thirty six unidentified bodies were found in a village east of benghazi they were discovered on thursday some of the victims had signs of torture and gunshot wounds to the head of the latest in a series of apparent mass killings in territory controlled by have to libyan national army thousands of persons are protesting against the sexual harassment of women in the wake of the harvey weinstein's scandal demonstration of the french capital comes after dozens of actresses accuse the hollywood producer of sexual assault and ra