BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 180,000 civilians, mostly Kurds, have been displaced by the conflict between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, humanitarian organizations said on Thursday.

Last month Iraqi forces captured Kirkuk and other territories from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, in retaliation for a referendum on independence held by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sept. 25 in northern Iraq.

“As of 2 November, over 183,000 people are displaced in the disputed areas, including 79,000 from Kirkuk city,” the Office of the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq said in a statement, giving no breakdown by ethnic or religious group.