As competition heats up among rival Iraqi Kurdish factions for the country’s presidency, regional power Turkey appeared to signal its preference by extending an ongoing ban on flights to Sulaimaniyah, where the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) holds sway.
Tahir Abdullah, the official in charge of Sulaimaniyah airport, told the Iraqi Kurdish news portal Rudaw that the ban imposed in the wake of the Iraqi Kurds’ referendum on independence that was held a year ago would remain in effect until Dec. 24. Ankara had also halted flights to Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s capital, in keeping with the Iraqi central government’s ban on flights to the Kurdish region because of the referendum.
