Documents show Iraqi PM orders reopening of Erbil-Kirkuk road within next three days

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the reopening of a strategic road between the provinces of Erbil and Kirkuk within the next three days, Iraqi sources told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday.

The sources, who asked to remain anonymous, said the order to reopen the road personally came from Abadi, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, adding it was “serious” and not like previous conflicting reports.

A Kurdistan 24 correspondent in the region said federal police had already begun preparations to remove the dirt barriers placed on the road.

The road has been closed since Iraqi forces, and Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias overran Kirkuk on Oct. 16 driving Kurdish troops from the region. The move was a military response from Baghdad against the Kurdistan Region’s historic independence referendum in September.

The road is not just a strategic route between the two cities but is a primary means for Iraqi and Kurdish travelers coming from other provinces in the south and north and vice versa.

On Saturday, Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, along with former Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, met on the Perde (Altun Kupri) road which lies on the path between Kirkuk and Erbil.

It remains unclear whether Iraqi forces can reopen the road within the next three days as there are many technical and military obstacles.

Kurdistan 24 could not immediately reach any Iraqi official for comment.

Commander of the Peshmerga forces Kamal Kirkuk on Wednesday said there are international efforts to reopen the road linking the Kurdistan Region capital and the province of Kirkuk, a path that has been closed for nearly nine months.

“The Americans and British agree with us on the need to open the road between Erbil and Kirkuk. We have no objection to that, but the ball is in Baghdad’s court,” he told Kurdistan 24.