Turkey says Iraqi Kurdish independence vote a ``terrible mistake``

Ankara: Turkey called a plan by Iraqi Kurds to hold a referendum on independence a "terrible mistake", saying on Friday that Iraq`s territorial integrity and political unity was a fundamental principle for Ankara.

Iraq`s autonomous Kurdish region said this week it would hold a referendum on independence, a move that is also unlikely to be welcomed by the central government in Baghdad.

Kurdish separatism is a sensitive issue for Turkey, which has been battling a militant insurgency in its largely Kurdish southeast for three decades. 

Ankara is also worried about the advances by a Syrian Kurdish militia in northern Syria, fearing that could embolden the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey.

"We think this will represent a terrible mistake," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "The maintenance of Iraq`s territorial integrity and political unit is one of the fundamental principles of Turkey`s Iraq policy."

The idea of Iraqi Kurdish independence has been historically opposed by Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria, as they all fear separatism spreading to their own Kurdish populations.

Iraq`s majority Shi`ite Arab community mainly live in the south while the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs inhabit different areas of the north. The centre around Baghdad is mixed.