Turkiye maintains sanctions on al-Sulaymaniyah International Airport

Shafaq News/ The Head of the Transportation and Communications Committee of the Iraqi Parliament, Karwan Yarwais, denied on Sunday the semi-official Iraqi newspaper "Al-Sabah" that attributed to him statements about removing the Turkish sanctions on al-Sulaymaniyah International Airport.

Al-Sabah newspaper misquoted Yarwais and said that, “the committee managed to remove the Turkish sanctions on al-Sulaymaniyah Airport, after meeting with the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad during its field visit to Al-Faw port in Basra.”

Yarwis clarified to Shafaq News Agency that “Al-Sabah newspaper falsely attributed to him a statement in today's issue, claiming that he said Turkey lifted the sanctions on the airport.”

In April 2023, al-Sulaymaniyah International Airport announced that Turkish Airlines had abruptly stopped its flights to the airport.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry explained that the reason for the suspension was the "infiltration" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the airport, which posed a security threat.

The security situation at the airport was further compromised on April 7th last year, when a drone attacked Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who was secretly visiting al-Sulaymaniyah and meeting with leaders of the international coalition. Abdi survived the attack, which took place inside the airport.