Ethnically divided Iraqi town fears fresh conflict after Kurds' independence vote

A boy rides a bicycle with the flag of Kurdistan in Tuz Khurmato, Iraq September 24, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq (Reuters) - On the eve of the historic referendum on independence, Kurds across the region were celebrating. Young people honked their horns and shot celebratory gunfire into the air of major cities.

But not in Tuz Khurmatu, an Iraqi town of more than 100,000 that is violently split among Kurds and Shi’ite Turkmen, who oppose Monday's referendum.