Tensions have escalated between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the country’s north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues.
The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called the move “collective punishment” and threatened to retaliate.
