In a fragmented Iraq, civil war is in fashion and the only shimmer of hope for stability in the region is coming from the north in Kurdistan.

Today SOFREP has heard RUMINT from several sources that Kurdistan is not only taking ground, they are preparing to announce their own statehood.

“The American air support encouraged the Kurdish militiamen to reverse the momentum of the recent fighting and retake Gwer and the other town, Mahmour, both within a half-hour’s drive of Erbil, according to Gen. Helgurd Hikmet, head of the pesh merga’s media office. General Hikmet said some pesh merga fighters had pushed on beyond the two towns, which lie on the frontier between the Arab and Kurdish areas of Iraq.” –NY Times

I had an opportunity to spend some time in the region in with winter of 2006. The one thing that became clear to me from my experience in Sulaymaniyahwas that Kurdistan has their act together, a stark comparison to the rest of the country. In the back of my mind I’ve always thought that the Kurds should have their independence, they’ve been fiercely loyal to America, and I don’t know anyone who’s served in the north of Iraq who wouldn’t think this a good idea.

“Further destabilization rocked Iraq on Sunday as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused President Fouad Massoum of engaging in a “coup” by failing to choose a new prime minister by an Sunday’s deadline.

In a last-minute bid to cling to power, Mr. al-Maliki declared the inaction to be “a clear constitutional violation” and said he planned to file a legal complaint against Mr. Massoum, who was named the new president in late July.

“This attitude represents a coup on the constitution and the political process in a country that is governed by a democratic and federal system,” Mr. al-Maliki said in a surprise address on Iraqi TV.” –Washington Times

Time will only tell if rumor becomes fact. The one thing we can count on, is that anything is possible in the current environment.

We’ll have more updates ASAP.

(Main image courtesy of Wikipedia.)