SULAIMANIYA, Oct 2: Tens of thousands of Kurds demonstrated in towns across Kurdish northern Iraq on Saturday, demanding a referendum on their autonomy and calling for the oil-rich city of Kirkuk to be made their capital.

In Sulaimaniya, in northeastern Iraq, organizers said between 60,000 and 70,000 people converged on the local government headquarters, many carrying banners declaring that Kirkuk, a contested city outside of the Kurdish region, should be theirs.

Banners also called for the two main Kurdish parties, the PUK and the KDP, which have been rivals over decades, to unite and present a stronger Kurdish challenge for independence.

The move appears to be part of efforts to build a united front before elections due to be held in January when Kurds will have a chance to vote not only in Kurdish regional elections but in a national poll for an Iraqi National Assembly.

As well as in Sulaimaniya, smaller demonstrations were held in the northern Kurdish town of Dohuk, and another was planned in Arbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, which comprises three of Iraq's 18 governorates.

In Kirkuk itself, a tense city which has seen instability over the past year as rival peoples - Arabs, Kurds and Turkish-speaking Turkmen - have fought to impose their dominance, about 2,000 Kurds held a related demonstration.

In Sulaimaniya, several protesters carried banners reading: "Kurdistan means nothing without Kirkuk". The thrust of the protest, however, was for a referendum for Kurds to determine their political status within Iraq.

Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population, have had effective autonomy in Kurdistan since the 1991 invasion, but have been pushing for further independence since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Kirkuk, a city of one million people, has been tense for well over a year, but the situation has worsened in the run-up to the elections. Some analysts fear the issue of Kirkuk could provoke civil war.

The call for Kirkuk to be made the capital of an autonomous Kurdistan is also particularly sensitive for Iraq's central government - if Kirkuk is made the capital then Kurds might also call for Kirkuk's huge oil revenues to be directed only to them.

SAMARRA SUFFERING: Iraq's leading Sunni religious group on Saturday said the government was responsible for the bloodshed in Samarra, where more than 100 people have died in a US offensive to retake the city from guerillas.