KRG delegation in Baghdad to discuss Kirkuk – Erbil highway security concerns
A Kurdish delegation, comprised mostly of security officials from the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry, headed to Baghdad on Sunday to meet with Iraqi officials regarding the re-opening of the Kirkuk – Erbil road which has been closed for nine months.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdish delegation, comprised mostly of security officials from the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry, headed to Baghdad on Sunday to meet with Iraqi officials regarding the re-opening of the Kirkuk – Erbil road which has been closed for nine months.
“We hope we can reach an agreement with Baghdad regarding the opening of the highway,” Erbil Police Director-General, Abdulkhaliq Talaat, told Kurdistan 24 before flying to the country’s capital.
He explained that technical issues had been resolved and that the KRG delegation would discuss security-related concerns with the Iraqi Interior Ministry’s officials.
The Kirkuk – Erbil road was shut down after last year’s Oct. 16 attack and military takeover of Kirkuk Province by Iraqi forces and Shia militias.
After months of closure, the KRG unilaterally decided to re-open the main road, but the highway remains closed as Iraqi forces have yet to give civilians access to travel to and from Erbil and Kirkuk.
On Tuesday, a Kurdish delegation visited Kirkuk and met with security officials to discuss the re-opening of the road.
The Kurdistan delegation included KRG representative to Baghdad, Farhad Nematulla, representative of the Ministry of the Interior headed by General-Director of Erbil Police, Abdulkhaliq Talaat, General-Director of the Directorate of Highways and Reconstruction of the Kurdistan Region, Honar Nouri, and representative of the Peshmerga forces in Altun Kupri (Pirde) subdistrict, Salar Taimour.
In a press conference held in Erbil, Nouri mentioned a report on the damages caused to a bridge along the highway, which had been destroyed during clashes last October between the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, had been presented in the meeting.
Reconstruction of the bridge will require one billion Iraqi dinars (838,000 USD) based on the Ministry’s assessment.
The KRG has expressed its readiness for an interim solution - the establishment of a temporary bridge - emphasizing that a more substantial project would be needed to make the crossing completely functional again.
Talaat previously explained to Kurdistan 24 that the re-opening of the road is crucial for both sides.
The closure of the highway has put excessive pressure on the Erbil – Koya – Taq Taq road, which commercial trucks and civilians traveling from the northern areas use to access Kirkuk through Sulaimani Province.
Editing by Nadia Riva