PIRDE, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Region has reopened the road connecting Erbil to Kirkuk on Friday.
"We have opened the Erbil-Kirkuk road," said Kamal Kirkuki, the Kurdish Peshmerga commander of Kirkuk's western front.
"We have opened the Erbil-Kirkuk road," said Kamal Kirkuki, the Kurdish Peshmerga commander of Kirkuk's western front.
He made the announcement on the Erbil side of the checkpoint (also called Altun Kupri). It is 50 kilometers south of Erbil city.
Kirkuki added that all roads under the control of the Peshmerga are open and people may commute freely.
Commuters still have to pass through Iraqi checkpoints to reach disputed or Kurdistani areas like Kirkuk which are claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil.
When Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Hash al-Shaabi militants launched an offensive on October 16 to drive out Kurdish forces in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani or disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil, Pirde Bridge was destroyed.
A destroyed bridge separates the most direct route between the two provincial capitals.
He described the reopening as a sign of “goodwill.”
Fighting between Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in October was to “protect the capital of the Kurdistan Region,” he added.
The intention of the “invaders was to occupy Erbil,” Kirkuki said. “But this fantasy and plot with that of the colluders was foiled and will not be fulfilled ever.”
Kirkuk city’s current situation should be resolved through dialogue, he urged.
“Kirkuk will definitely not remain invaded,” said the Peshmerga commander.
Their forces will be stationed on the road to protect the people in Erbil, he added.
Kirkuki said the decision to open the road came from Masoud Barzani, the former president of the Kurdistan Region who currently still heads the KDP, in a meeting last week.
Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi estimates that 700 million Iraqi dinars (about $588,000) is needed to repair it.
When Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Hash al-Shaabi militants launched an offensive on October 16 to drive out Kurdish forces in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani or disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil, Pirde Bridge was destroyed.
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