Embargo on Kurdistan airports adversely impact humanitarian crisis in Iraq: Barzani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday revealed that the international flight ban on airports in Kurdistan has negatively affected the work of humanitarian organizations and impeded injured Peshmerga from receiving treatment abroad.

The Iraqi government took draconian measures against the Kurdistan Region after it held a historic referendum on Sep. 25 which saw an overwhelming support for independence from Iraq.

The Federal Government of Iraq implemented collective punishment on the people of the Kurdistan Region, banning international flights, restricting financial transactions, and launched assaults on disputed areas, including Kirkuk Province, to impose federal control.

“The continued embargo on the Kurdistan Region’s airports has negatively affected the delivery of humanitarian assistance to displaced people and refugees, the field work capacity of international humanitarian organizations, and even harmed injured Peshmerga [who receive medical treatment abroad for injuries sustained in the fight against the Islamic State (IS),” Barzani said.

Barzani’s speech was delivered after his meeting with the Dutch Ambassador to Iraq, Matthijs Wolters, accompanied by the Netherlands’ Consul General in Erbil, Janet Alberda.

Wolters hoped dialogue would soon begin between Erbil and Baghdad to “resolve their differences peacefully.”

The Kurdistan Region is home to over 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees who fled the threat of IS, pouring in over the past few years from Syria and other parts of Iraq.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were described as one of the most effective ground forces in defeating the jihadist group. Since 2014, some 2,000 Peshmerga fell while fighting IS and over 10,000 were wounded.

Ties between Erbil and Baghdad have considerably deteriorated since the Kurdistan Region’s independence vote. As a show of good faith, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) offered to freeze the results of the referendum, which Baghdad refused, demanding a full annulment instead.

Senior officials of the Kurdistan Region have called on a third international party to supervise talks between Erbil and Baghdad. The Iraqi government has also rejected the request thus far.

“The role of the international community in laying down the groundwork for a serious dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad is crucial,” Barzani stressed, reiterating Erbil’s resolution talks be held on the basis of the Iraqi constitution.

Editing by Nadia Riva