Politics

WATCH: Erbil - Makhmour road officially re-opened after five months

Peshmerga and Iraqi forces on Monday officially re-opened the Erbil-Makhmour road which had been closed for more than five months due to clashes between the two forces in Oct. 2017.

Sangar Ali 2018/04/02 06:01

kurdistan Makhmour Erbil Kurdistan Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) - Peshmerga and Iraqi forces on Monday officially re-opened the Erbil-Makhmour road which had been closed for more than five months due to clashes between the two forces in Oct. 2017.

The road was shut down following the Oct. 16 attack by Iraqi forces and the Iran-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias on the Kirkuk province and other disputed territories, including the town of Makhmour.

Last month, Kurdish Peshmerga forces, as an initiating gesture of goodwill, unilaterally re-opened the Erbil – Makhmour and Erbil – Kirkuk roads under their control.

Peshmerga and Iraqi forces that had fought Islamic State (IS) militants together for the previous years, fought each other along several front lines following the Kurdistan Region's Sep. 25 referendum on independence.

The two forces had intense clashes in Altun Kupri (Pirde), Makhmour, and the Zummar area near the Syrian border, with casualties reported on both sides.

In the past month, the federal government has shown an increased willingness to engage in dialogue to resolve disputes with the Kurdistan Region, but it's still a long way from pre-referendum levels of cooperation.

Editing by Nadia Riva