Secretary General of Kurdish Peshmerga Forces Jabar Yawar denied Friday that the Iraqi central government had given the Peshmerga forces 48 hours to leave Kirkuk province, Iraqi-based Al Sumaria TV news channel reported.

Yawar stressed that no official instructions of that kind were given to the Peshmerga forces.

Earlier on Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi ordered the Iraqi central government forces to stop entering Kirkuk for 48 hours, according to Russian Sputnik news agency.

Source: MENA