Foreigners not allowed to enter Iraq illegally via Kurdistan

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Ministry of Interior issued orders to arrest any foreigner that enters Iraq through the regional border points of Kurdistan without first having a visa issued by the Iraqi federal government, the director of the ministry’s national command center said on Monday. “Foreigners, whether journalists or others, who intend to enter Iraq, should get visas,” General Abdilkareem Khalaf said in a release issued by the ministry. “The Iraqi Federal Interior Ministry is the only side authorized to issue this visa,” he added. He stressed that those who violate the law in this regard by entering the country illegally via Kurdistan would be either fined or imprisoned, and will later be deported to their home countries. MH (P)/SR 1