ANKARA: Iraq has suspended all international flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital Irbil from Friday, as Baghdad cranked up the pressure on the Kurds over their independence referendum last Monday.
The cut in foreign air links, Baghdad’s first retaliatory measure against the referendum — in which 92 percent voted for independence from Iraq — was condemned on Thursday by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as “collective punishment against the Kurds.”
Irbil Airport Director Talar Faiq Salih said all international flights to and from the city would stop from 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Friday, following a decision by the Iraqi Cabinet.
Thursday’s decision saw people, many of them foreigners, turn out in droves at Irbil Airport to avoid getting stuck in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
Measures adopted by Baghdad in the wake of the referendum “are illegal and unconstitutional… They deny the constitutional rights of the Kurds,” the KRG said, adding that it was “ready for dialogue to resolve problems” with Baghdad.
Since the referendum, Turkey — which has called it “illegitimate” — has been coordinating countermeasures with Baghdad.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on Thursday said Ankara agreed to deal only with Baghdad regarding crude oil exports.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday said Ankara, Tehran and Baghdad will soon hold a trilateral summit to coordinate measures against the KRG.
The Turkish and Iraqi armies have been conducting joint drills along their border since Sunday evening.
On Wednesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a second travel warning against Irbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah provinces of Iraq due to potential security risks.
On the same day, Ankara held a high-level security summit over recent developments in northern Iraq and Syria, presided by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In line with the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to execute an air embargo and suspend international flights, Turkey’s leading airlines — Turkish Airlines, AtlasGlobal and Pegasus — are to suspend flights to northern Iraq as of Friday until further notice.
Erdogan on Thursday said KRG President Masoud Barzani has “thrown himself into the fire” by holding the referendum.
Mehmet Akif Okur, a Middle East expert from Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, said Ankara’s measures aim to show the KRG that any declaration of independence will have a cost.
“Although he has close relations with Ankara, Barzani didn’t negotiate with Turkish authorities before taking such a crucial decision as the referendum,” Okur told Arab News.
“Now Ankara wants to warn the KRG that any independence declaration might result in more serious consequences.”
On Thursday, Turkey said it had begun preparations to open a new border crossing in Ovakoy near the border with Iraq, as an alternative to the Habur crossing with the KRG.
“Trade revenue from Ovakoy will be taken by Baghdad. It’ll be an economic sanction on the KRG because Habur was the primary door for it to trade with the world,” Okur said.
“But sanctions should bear in mind that we have historical and cultural ties with northern Iraq. Humanitarian concerns should be taken into consideration.”
Galip Dalay, research director at Al-Sharq Forum in Istanbul, said Turkey should keep channels open with both Baghdad and the KRG.
“It shouldn’t burn bridges with the Iraqi Kurds,” he told Arab News. “In the end, Iraqi Kurds and the central government will sit down for talks.”
Dalay said some of the rhetoric from Baghdad is mostly meant for domestic consumption. “Elections are taking place in April, and there’s fierce rivalry between different groups and personalities within the Iraqi Shiite political establishment. This creates fertile ground for unfruitful discourse, but it’s untenable,” he said.
So Turkey should not be party to Iraqi internal politics, and should not adopt sanctions against the KRG, he added.
“Previous cases show that sanctions aren’t that effective as a foreign policy tool. Saddam Hussein’s sanctions against the Kurds in 1992 proved to be counterproductive for his regime, and paved the way for the Kurdish state-building process,” Dalay said.
“In Iraq, there aren’t just two options: Separation or the status quo. There are other options too, such as a confederation. Turkey should invest time and energy into such viable options.”
Iraq imposes flight ban on Irbil
Iraq imposes flight ban on Irbil
Lebanon’s government approves a deal to transfer Syrian prisoners back to Syria
- Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides
- A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet on Friday approved an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners serving their sentences in Lebanon back to their home country.
The issue of prisoners has been a sore point as the neighboring countries seek to recalibrate their relations following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led insurgents in December 2024. Former insurgent leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now Syria’s interim president.
Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides. Many Lebanese resent the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian forces that ended in 2005. Many Syrians resent the role played by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah when it entered Syria’s civil war in defense of Assad’s government.
A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus had asked Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials said Beirut would not release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately.
The deal approved Friday appeared to resolve that tension. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad’s rule and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.
Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that about 300 prisoners would be transferred as a result of the agreement.
Protesters gathered in a square below the government palace in downtown Beirut ahead of the Cabinet vote to call for amnesty for Lebanese prisoners, including some who joined militant groups fighting against Assad in Syria. Some of the protesters called for the release of Sunni cleric Ahmad Al-Assir, imprisoned for his role in 2013 clashes that killed 18 Lebanese army soldiers.
“The state found solutions for the Syrian youth who are heroes and belong to the Syrian revolution who have been imprisoned for 12 years,” said protester Khaled Al- Bobbo. “But in the same files there are also Lebanese detainees. ... We demand that just as they found solutions for the Syrians, they must also find solutions for the people of this country.”
