Iraqi PM Abadi lifts international flight ban to KRG

iraq has lifted the ban on international flights to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government’s ( KRG) airports after federal authority was restored at the hubs, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement yesterday.

“Kurdistan’s regional airports will be under the command of the Federal Ministry of the Interior,” the statement said.

Al-Abadi’s announcement yesterday comes some six months after the airports were initially shut to international flights following a controversial referendum vote in northern Iraq’s self-ruled KRG region that overwhelmingly backed independence from Baghdad.

The vote, though non-binding, was held across the autonomous KRG region’s three provinces as well as in some disputed territories controlled by KRG security forces but claimed by Baghdad.

The referendum was vehemently rejected by Baghdad and Iraq’s other neighbors, ratcheting up tensions in the region on the heels of military victories against the Daesh terror group.

The decision to lift the flight ban comes as Iraq is preparing for national elections slated to be held in May. Initially, al-Aabdi’s tough line on Iraq’s Kurds translated into widespread public support among his base in Iraq’s Shiite heartland.

However, the Iraqi parliament remains deeply divided, raising fears of a protracted government formation process following national elections. Kurdish lawmakers boycotted a recent vote in parliament approving the country’s 2018 budget.

Iraq’s small landlocked Kurdish region has been increasingly isolated following the September referendum, straining relations with key allies such as the U.S. and neighboring Turkey.