ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Overnight snowfall has disrupted the movement of trucks at the Kele border crossing between Iran and the Kurdistan Region, an official told Rudaw on Sunday.
“Due to heavy snowfall, the transportation of the cargo trucks at the Kele border crossing has been stopped,” said Dersim Hama Mahmoud, deputy director of Kele border crossing customs.
Kele is a semi-official border crossing linking Kurdistan Region’s Qaladze district to Sardasht town in Iran.
Mahmoud said nearly 20 centimeters of snow had fallen at the crossing since last night, adding that authorities had neglected the issue despite being notified.
“The heavy snowfall in this area had prevented Iraqi trucks from coming to the Sardasht Kele border, and due to the absence of Iraqi trucks, the exchange of goods [exports and imports] was not carried out at the border crossing,” Amin Gholamnezhad, head of the border crossing from Sardasht side, told Iran's IRNA state media.
Few passengers have been able to cross the border, Gholamnezhad added.
Naqib Ali, the spokesperson for the civil defense of the Soran Independent administration, stated that they have dispatched teams to clear the road.
Mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region regularly experience significant winter snowfall, often temporarily halting movement between Iran and the Kurdistan Region.
Malik Mohammed contributed to this article.
