Iraq’s Kurds voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Iraq, but faced being left stranded after Baghdad ordered international flights to halt service to Kurdish airports starting Friday. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ruled out the use of force, but vowed to take other measures to keep his country from breaking apart as the standoff looked set to worsen.

The referendum passed with more than 92 percent of voters approving independence, the Kurdish region’s election commission told a news conference on Wednesday. Turnout was over 72 percent, it said.

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Iraq’s Kurds said Sunday they will hold an independence referendum “whatever the risk and price”, despite threats of retaliation from the country’s central government on the eve of the vote.

Massud Barzani, the leader of oil-rich Iraqi Kurdistan, said his people’s partnership with Baghdad had failed and that the plebiscite would proceed as planned on Monday.

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Controversial referendums on independence are scheduled in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sept. 25 and the Spanish region of Catalonia on Oct. 1. Both referendums place these secessionist regions on a collision course with their central governments and the international community, increasing the probability of conflict. What is the purpose of these referendums, and what is the strategy behind them?

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Woman waves flag during celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Somaliland’s declaration of independence in the capital, Hargeisa on May 18, 2016.

Despite the declaration, Somaliland is still considered an autonomous region of Somalia by the United Nations. But President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo is pushing hard for recognition of full sovereignty.

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A third faction of separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Reformed Indigenous People of Biafra; RE-IPOB, has emerged.

Recall that the crises rocking IPOB took a new twist yesterday, following an announcement by a splinter group, the Rebranded Indigenous People of Biafra, TRIPOB, renouncing the Biafra group.

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