Turkey Resumes Flights to Kurdistan’s Sulaymaniyah Airport

Turkey resumes flights to Sulaymaniyah International Airport. (AP)
Turkey resumes flights to Sulaymaniyah International Airport. (AP)
TT

Turkey Resumes Flights to Kurdistan’s Sulaymaniyah Airport

Turkey resumes flights to Sulaymaniyah International Airport. (AP)
Turkey resumes flights to Sulaymaniyah International Airport. (AP)

After a halt of 15 months, Turkish airlines resumed direct flights to the Sulaymaniyah International Airport in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

A Turkish Airlines flight landed in the airport at dawn local time with 28 passengers on board.

Flights to the facility were suspended in September 2017 four days after a Kurdish independence referendum that was opposed by Ankara and Baghdad.

The vote ultimately failed in achieving its goals due to regional and international meddling.

Director of the Sulaymaniyah airport Taher Abdullah welcome the resumption of Turkish flights.

“It is really a happy day to see a return of Turkish flights,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat, crediting Iraqi President Barham Salih for persuading Ankara to resume operations to the Kurdish region.

The Iraqi leader had paid a visit to Turkey earlier this month.

Public relations official at Sulaymaniyah airport Dana Mohammed revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the facility will receive seven Turkish Airlines flights per week at a rate of one per day.

European carriers are also expected to resume regular flights to the airport starting next week, he added.

Fly Germany will make its first flight to Sulaymaniyah on February 21.



Lebanese Army Deploys South as Israel Withdraws from Border Villages

Civil Defense teams in Tyre are returning the bodies of those killed during the war for their final burial (Reuters)
Civil Defense teams in Tyre are returning the bodies of those killed during the war for their final burial (Reuters)
TT

Lebanese Army Deploys South as Israel Withdraws from Border Villages

Civil Defense teams in Tyre are returning the bodies of those killed during the war for their final burial (Reuters)
Civil Defense teams in Tyre are returning the bodies of those killed during the war for their final burial (Reuters)

Tensions remain high on Lebanon's southern border, with Israel continuing to violate the ceasefire daily. Efforts are underway, both within Lebanon and internationally, to prevent another war.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army is completing its deployment in the south as Israeli forces pull out of villages they had entered.

Lebanese officials are hopeful for calm and expect all parties to stick to the agreement. The monitoring committee is set to begin its work soon, with the French general arriving on Wednesday, following the American general who will lead the committee.

Their first meeting will be on Thursday, according to military sources.

As Israel began pulling out its troops and equipment from villages in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Tuesday that the Lebanese Army had stepped up its presence in Tyre and nearby areas to ensure security.

This marks the start of the Army’s redeployment in the south, especially in border villages.

The Lebanese Army also announced it is recruiting volunteers to strengthen its forces in the south and help implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 after the ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreement calls for a 60-day truce, during which Israel is expected to withdraw from the southern villages. Hezbollah is required to end its armed presence south of the Litani River, where 10,000 Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) will be deployed.

Tensions, however, eased on Tuesday along Lebanon's southern border after a sharp escalation between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday evening.

Nevertheless, Israeli violations continued, with over 80 breaches recorded by the Lebanese Army in the past week.

On Tuesday, Israeli shelling killed a civilian in Shebaa, with the National News Agency reporting the man was struck by a missile from an Israeli drone.

An artillery shell also hit the Marjayoun Plain, and an Israeli Merkava tank crossed into the area near the border between Deir Mimas, Burj al-Mulouk, and Kfarkila in the south, stopping 200 meters from a Lebanese Army checkpoint.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported a convoy of 15 Israeli vehicles moved from the Wazzani border area toward Wadi al-Khayam, with part of the convoy heading towards the eastern part of Khiam. This followed reports that Israeli vehicles had withdrawn from eastern Khiam on Monday.

Israel also launched airstrikes on the town of Bayt Lifa in southern Lebanon and fired machine guns at Majdal Zoun.

In response, the Israeli military said it targeted a terrorist cell in the Bekaa Valley.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Monday that Israel might push deeper into Lebanon and no longer differentiate between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah if the ceasefire breaks down.

Katz stated, “If the ceasefire collapses, Lebanon will have no immunity,” adding that Israel would act with greater force if the war resumes.