Turkey, which regards the Kurdish YPG militia in Afrin as a threat on its southern border, launched an assault on the region last month.
Abadi ordered economic and military retaliation against the KRG after Iraqi Kurds voted for independence in September in a referendum that Baghdad declared illegal.
An Arab couple who have seen Kirkuk change hands several times before said they now feel safer and more comfortable.
The United States came out in opposition to the vote, along with major European states and neighbouring countries Turkey and Iran.
