Truckers protest costly delays at Jimin checkpoint

Shafaq News – Kirkuk

Truck drivers and transport companies on Tuesday protested customs fees and long security checks at checkpoints linking Kirkuk with the Kurdistan Region, warning that delays at the Jimin checkpoint have caused heavy financial losses.

The demonstrators demanded the removal of extra fees, streamlined security procedures, and oversight by local police. They pledged to continue their protests unless immediate reforms are introduced.

Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha told Shafaq News that officials have opened high-level talks to address the crisis, adding that he formally requested the Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Abdul Karim al-Sudani, to dispatch a senior committee to investigate congestion at the checkpoints and propose urgent solutions.

According to Taha, the committee will visit Kirkuk this week to assess conditions and regulate truck traffic.

Economist Ali Abdullah cautioned that bottlenecks risk inflicting serious economic damage, explaining to our agency that “congestion affects the flow of energy supplies and strategic goods. Transport costs rise, markets feel the pressure, and consumers pay the price.” He also urged Baghdad and Erbil to coordinate and unify customs and security procedures, noting that overlapping authority would continue to burden transport and trade.

Between protesters’ demands and the government’s pledge to send an investigative committee, the Jimin checkpoint remains the focal point of a wider dispute over how to reconcile security requirements with the economy’s need for smooth transit.