Iraq's Diyala province declares autonomy

Diyala Provincial Council voted Monday to declare Diyala province as an administratively and economically independent region. The majority of the council signed an official request to the central government, the adviser of Diyala’s governor, Rasem El-Akedi announced on Monday in a press conference. For his part, Ziad Ahmed, a Kurdish member of Diyala's provincial council, said in a statement during the conference: “In response to the request of tribal leaders and the intellectual elite in Diyala, we agreed to declare Diyala province as an administratively and economically independent region,” referring to sign the official request to the central government, while keeping Iraq's unity and commitment to the Constitution. He also asked for support of the decision and help its implementation. Diyala province is the second province after Salahuddin to be declared as an administratively and economically independent region.