IRAQ – Foreigners scrambled to leave Iraqs Kurdish region before the start of a flight ban imposed by Baghdad on Friday in retaliation for an independence referendum that has sent regional tensions soaring. My job is done here and I decided to travel next week, but I am traveling today for fear of canceling the flights later, said Jordanian Khader Ahmed, who works for an international humanitarian organization at Erbil airport waiting for his flight to Amman. I do not want to find myself stuck here unable to travel, the man, who spent two years in the Kurdistan region, said. I do not think the decision will last long, Erbil airport director Talar Faiq Saleh said, a large number of foreigners live here, and this ban does not affect the Kurds alone. Erbil airport is adorned with many Kurdish flags and a banner calling for the independence of Kurdistan.
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