Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, January 27, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Thaier Al-Sudani / File.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered on Thursday the reopening of the airports of Erbil and Suleimaniya, in the Kurdistan region, for international flights, a statement from his office said.

International flights to and from the semi-autonomous region’s two main airports in Erbil and Suleimaniya were halted on Sept. 29 as part of sanctions imposed on the Kurds after they held an independence referendum four days earlier in defiance of Baghdad and voted overwhelmingly for separation.

Kurdish authorities have agreed that the airports should come under federal control and report to Baghdad’s Interior Ministry, the prime minister’s statement said.