Kurdistan Region: Ibrahim Khalil Border Crossing is Under Erbil Control

Officials from the Kurdistan Region state that the Ibrahim Khalil customs (Khabur border crossing) at the Turkish border remains under the control of Kurdish forces. Earlier reports indicated that this important border crossing was under the control of the Iraqi central government forces. According to the German news agency, Binali Yildirim, the Prime Minister of Turkey, addressed members of his ruling party in Ankara, stating: 'From now on, the Khabur crossing on the Turkish side will be fully controlled by our officials, and on the Iraqi side by Iraqi officials who have come from Baghdad.' According to the Associated Press, Abdul Wahab Mohammed, a border intelligence official from the Kurdistan Region, denied this claim, stating that no Iraqi forces have entered or taken control of this crossing. This intelligence official noted that General Osman Al-Ghanimi, the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army, visited Iraqi forces inside Turkish territory, where they conducted joint exercises with the Turkish army. Earlier, Reuters reported that Iraqi central government forces had set up checkpoints at the Ibrahim Khalil border on Tuesday, and to cross the border, one must pass through the Kurdistan checkpoint, the central government checkpoint, and the Turkish border guards' checkpoint. The news agency also reported receiving images from an Iraqi official showing the Iraqi flag at the Ibrahim Khalil border. Following the independence referendum in the Kurdistan Region, relations between Baghdad and Erbil deteriorated. The Iraqi central government deemed this referendum illegal and demanded that the Kurdistan Region hand over all border crossings to the central government. Baghdad also took control of the oil-rich Kirkuk province by sending its forces there. The Iraqi central government has banned all international flights to and from the Kurdistan Region. Over the past two weeks, sporadic clashes have occurred between the Kurdistan Region forces and the Iraqi central government. Meanwhile, Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, reiterated on Tuesday his demand for the Kurdistan Region to hand over all border crossings to the central government forces. Al-Abadi stated, 'A committee will oversee the re-establishment of federal forces in areas that have been under the control of the Kurdistan Region since 2003.' In 2003, the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was toppled by American forces. All of Iraq's border with Turkey is through the Kurdistan Region, and this border strip was under Kurdish control even before the fall of Saddam Hussein.