People march in Erbil to commemorate the independence referendum

Shafaq News / Residents of Erbil marched today, Sunday, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Kurdistan Region independence referendum. 

Shireen Kurdi, who attended the event, told Shafaq News agency, "this is a historical day for the Kurdish people. We came here to commemorate this day in which the Kurdish people decided its future freely."

For his part, Ismail Shirwani said that about a hundred people from different religious and cultural backgrounds participated in the march to prove that the Kurdish people are still keen to achieve independence.

An independence referendum for the Kurdistan Region was held on September 25, 2017, with preliminary results showing approximately 92.73 percent of votes cast in favor of independence.

As a result, Baghdad imposed sanctions and denounced the referendum, which was rejected by several countries, including Turkey and Iran.