UPDATED: Iraqi forces reach Erbil’s southern borders
A general view shows the Citadel of Erbil in Erbil, Iraq April 23, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government forces approached Friday the southern borders of Erbil, capital of semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, shortly after engaging in clashes with the region’s forces.
Alghad Press quoted an official Kurdish security source saying that federal troops headed to Qush Taba, a region extending along the southern borders of Erbil.
The region was the old location of Erbil’s border security before it was relocated to Alton Kobri, in northern Kirkuk, which the Iraqi military command says it had seized earlier on Friday after clashes with Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
According to the source, Peshmerga troops intensified their deployment in Qush Taba to prevent further incursions by Iraqi forces.
Iraqi Dijlah TV quoted Karim al-Nuri, a senior commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, saying that Iraqi troops will not move beyond Kirkuk’s borders as per directives by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Iraqi troops, backed by Popular Mobilization Forces, took over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on Tuesday, fulfilling instructions made earlier by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan Region’s Government. Abadi has ordered to evacuate all armed groups except for local police forces.
PMF spokesman, Ahmed al-Assadi, said Thursday mobilization forces withdrew from all positions to outside Kirkuk, leaving security duties to local police.
The Iraqi military command said it became in control over all of the province’s oil fields, military bases and government facilities. The military takeover came after Kurdistan voted in September to secede from Iraq. Iraqi officials have frequently reiterated they would proceed until federal government control is fully re-established in disputed territories.