Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani says he will give up his position as president after an independence referendum he championed backfired and triggered a regional crisis.
There was high drama at the Kurdish parliament, which was stormed by armed protesters as it met to approve the veteran leader's resignation as Kurdish president. Some MPs were barricaded in their offices on Sunday evening.
In a televised address, his first since Iraqi forces launched a surprise offensive to recapture Kurdish-held territory on October 16, Barzani confirmed that he would not extend his presidential term after November 1 "under any conditions".
"I am the same Masoud Barzani, I am a Peshmerga (Kurdish fighter) and will continue to help my people in their struggle for independence," said Barzani, who has campaigned for Kurdish self-determination for nearly four decades.
The region, which had enjoyed unprecedented autonomy for years, has been in turmoil since the independence referendum a month ago prompted military and economic retaliation from Iraq's central government in Baghdad.
In his address, Barzani vigorously defended his decision to hold the September 25 referendum, the results of which "can never be erased", he said. The vote was overwhelmingly for independence and triggered the military action by the Baghdad government and threats from neighbouring Turkey and Iran.
