Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has formally demanded that the Kurdistan region suspend its plan to hold a referendum on independence, planned for September 25, his office said today.

The Iraqi Supreme Federal Court approved Abadi's demand to consider "the breakaway of any region or province from Iraq as unconstititional", his office said in a statement.

The court is in charge of settling disputes between the central government and the regions, including Kurdistan, but it has no means to implement its orders in the Kurdish region, which has its own police.

Al-Abadi said on Saturday that Kurdish plans to hold a referendum on independence was like "playing with fire", according to a local media website. His comment came after the parliament of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq approved on Friday the Kurdistan Regional Government's plan to hold the vote on September 25.

The vote could jeopardise gains achieved by the Kurds under the self-rule regime, Abadi said, according to the Iraqi Media News Agency news website.

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