Kurdish Referendum: Iraq Cuts Off All Foreign Flights to Erbil
Local Editor
All international flights to and from Erbil in the Kurdish Regional Government [KRG] of Iraq are to be suspended from Friday, an airport official said.
The order from Iraq's central government adds to pressure to cancel the results of this week's independence referendum, in which 93 per cent voted to split from Baghdad.
Relatively, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi did not recognize Monday's independence vote, which he said is an unconstitutional attempt by the Kurds to exert greater control over the country's oil revenues and disputed territory such as Kirkuk.
Meanwhile, it is expected that flights to the capital and other cities will continue as normal.
KRG Transport Minister Mowlud Murad rejected Baghdad's instructions in a news conference on Wednesday, telling reporters that Erbil and Sulimaniyah airports must remain open to maintain the Kurdish economy and facilitate the offensives on Daesh's [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL' group] last remaining strongholds in the country.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
