Iraqi residency card holders will be allowed to cross into Kurdistan Region of Iraq after border closing due to coronavirus

DAYRIK (AL-MALIKIYAH), Syria — On Thursday, the administrations on both sides of the Semalka Border Crossing between North and East Syria (NES) and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) decided to allow Iraqi residency card holders and residents of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah stranded in NES to cross back into KRI.

The decision comes two days after dozens of residency card holders from KRI gathered at Semalka demanding they be let to cross back into KRI before the Eid al-Adha holiday.

As for those living outside Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, a separate decision is to be made after Eid al-Adha, according administration spokesperson at the Semalka crossing Shirzad Othman.