Road linking Duhok to Mosul reopens
The road had recently been reopened after Mosul, which had been under the control of the Islamic State (IS) since 2014, was liberated in the summer of 2017.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish security sources on Thursday revealed that authorities in the Kurdistan Region had reopened the road linking Duhok to Mosul, which was shut down in the wake of Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia militias advancing on disputed territories.
The road had recently been reopened after Mosul, which had been under the control of the Islamic State (IS) since 2014, was liberated in the summer of 2017.
Following the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi attacks on the Peshmerga forces on Oct. 16, all major roads between the Kurdistan Region and other Kurdistani areas outside of the KRG’s administration [disputed territories] were blocked.
After an agreed cease-fire between the Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga, a number of roads were reopened, but others linking the Duhok and Nineveh provinces had remained close.
The source told Kurdistan 24 that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decided to open the road connecting the provinces of Duhok and Nineveh to allow the flow of people and civilian vehicles to resume.
It is now clear whether the Iraqi-controlled areas would reopen the road as Kurdish forces and the Iraqi army in the northern region are no longer in cooperation.
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have increased since the Region held an independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017, which won overwhelming support for secession from Iraq.
Baghdad refused to recognize the vote and instead responded by imposing collective punitive measures against Kurdistan, including the use of military force in disputed areas.