The legacy of outgoing Kurdish President Masoud Barzani

After years of fighting with the Peshmerga and more in the Kurdistan Regional Government to lead Iraq’s Kurdish region towards secession, Masoud Barzani will not extend his presidential term beyond November 1.

Barzani was one of the most significant driving forces behind the Kurdish bid to secede from Iraq, but pressure had been mounting on him to step aside ever since September’s controversial referendum.

Just days after most Kurds voted in favour of independence, the Iraqi government moved in to take back vast swaths of territory that had been under Kurdish control.

Al Jazeera’s Katia Lopez-Hodoyan takes a look at Barzani’s political legacy.