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Turkey's Erdogan warns Iraqi Kurds will go hungry if sanctions imposed

6:34pm IST - 01:27

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Iraqi Kurds would go hungry if his country halts the flow of trucks and oil across the border with northern Iraq and warned that all military and economic measures were on the table against its neighbor. Rough cut (no reporter narration).

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ROUGH CUT. NO REPORTER NARRATION. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday (September 26) warned that Iraqi Kurds would go hungry if Turkey decides to halt the flow of trucks and oil across its border with northern Iraq, and said all military and economic measures were on the table. The comments, some of the harshest yet from Erdogan about Monday's (September 25) referendum in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, came as Iraqi troops joined the Turkish army for joint military exercises near Turkey's border with northern Iraq. Turkey has long been northern Iraq's main link to the outside world, but sees the referendum as a threat to its own national security, fearing it will inflame separatism among its own Kurdish population. Erdogan has repeatedly threatened economic sanctions, but has so far given few details. Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day flow through a pipeline in Turkey from northern Iraq, connecting the region to global oil markets. Erdogan also accused Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, of "treachery" over the vote.

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Turkey's Erdogan warns Iraqi Kurds will go hungry if sanctions imposed

6:34pm IST - 01:27