Turkey closes its airspace to planes coming from Sulaymaniyah airport
Istanbul International Airport. Photo: AP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Turkey announced on Wednesday the closure of its airspace to flights coming from Sulaymaniyah in Iraq, due to the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The spokesperson of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanju Bilgic, mentioned in a statement that the Turkish airspace has been closed to airplanes coming from or flying to Sulaymaniyah International Airport in northern Iraq, starting from April 3.
Bilgic illustrated that the new measure has been taken to respond to the activities of the PKK in Sulaymaniyah International Airport and the threat they pose to the security of aviation.
The Turkish official expected that the measure will last until July 3 as a first stage, to be reviewed once again after closely following and evaluating developments, according to Anadolu Agency.
No immediate comment was made by the Iraqi authorities or the authorities of the Kurdistan region of Iraq on Turkey’s decision to close its airspace.
Turkey classifies the PKK as a terrorist organization and accuses it of killing more than 40 thousand people since 1984.