Iraq's Supreme Federal Court today issued what it called a 'final' ruling that a referendum held on Kurdish independence was unconstitutional and that the results of the vote were void, a court spokesman said.
Kurds voted overwhelmingly to break away from Iraq in a referendum held on September 25, defying the central government in Baghdad as well as neighbouring Turkey and Iran who have their own Kurdish minorities.
The court is responsible for settling disputes between Iraq's central government and regions including Kurdistan. The verdict cannot be appealed.
'The Federal Court issued the decision to consider the Kurdish region's referendum unconstitutional and this ruling is final,' the spokesman said. 'The power of this ruling should now cancel all the results of the referendum.'
The court had already ruled on November 6 that no region or province can secede and the Kurdistan Regional Government said last week it would respect that verdict.
Iraqi government forces and the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces launched a surprise offensive on October 16 in retaliation. Government forces managed to wrest back control of the oil city of Kirkuk and other disputed territories.
Last month, church leaders in northern Iraq warned that the Christian presence in the region could be threatened by the referendum.
Five senior Catholic and Orthodox bishops appealed to the international community to protect Christians who live in territories, like the Nineveh Plains, which are claimed by both the government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
In their statement, they wrote: 'We cannot hide our concern that the situation for the Christians has become very difficult and leads to uncertainty.'
Additional reporting by Reuters.
