Iraqi PM announces Baghdad lifting ban on international flights to KRG

BAGHDAD - Reuters

Iraq has lifted the ban on international flights to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) airports, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement on March 13. 

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

The ban on international flights was part of sanctions imposed on the Kurdish region after it conducted a referendum in September on Kurdish independence in defiance of Baghdad’s wishes.