"The foreign ministry expresses its condemnation of the incursion of a number of Turkish military units inside Iraqi territory," spokesman Ahmed Jamal said in a statement.
"It represents a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a clear offence to bilateral relations between the two countries," he said.
Turkish special forces entered Iraq on Tuesday in what officials termed a "short-term" incursion in pursuit of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) allegedly involved in attacks that killed more than two dozen soldiers and police.
The PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of establishing an independent state for Turkey's Kurdish minority, although lately its demands have focused on greater autonomy and cultural rights.
The PKK and Turkish forces are again trading attacks on the ground and from the air, upending a 2013 ceasefire between the two sides.
AFP
dailystar.com.lb
10/9/15
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Ahmet Davutoğlu says Turkey’s cross border operations yield efficient results
Turkey’s Ground Forces Enter Iraq
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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has hinted at full-scale military ground action in neighboring Iraq “if necessary”....
ReplyDeleteSpeaking in a wide-ranging TV interview on Thursday on the A Haber channel, Davutoglu said: “Our armed forces and special units enter Iraq when necessary and come back, but we have not yet started a comprehensive ground operation.
“A full-scale operation will be launched, if necessary, just like in 2008," he added.
In February 2008, Turkish forces launched airstrikes in northern Iraq backed by ground troops; the week-long operation was aimed at the terrorist PKK organization which has bases in the mountainous region.
Davutoglu added: "In such a case, all necessary measures will be taken [to ensure the safety of] our soldiers but we have instructed them not to allow any activities that would undermine Turkey's security."
The prime minister also slammed declarations of local self-rule made by some Kurdish mayors in Turkey’s southeast.
“This is not Syria,” said Davutoglu, adding: “Nobody can announce cantons as they wish. In a democratic judicial state the administrative system and its functioning are settled.”
Davutoglu also spoke on out on scenes of Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) members being barred from going to the town of Cizre in Turkey’s southeast..............http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/590985--turkish-pm-slams-self-rule-claims
10/9/15
Turkish jets strike PKK in Iraq as conflict escalates ...
ReplyDeleteTurkish warplanes bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq overnight, a security source told Reuters on Friday, the latest in a series of daily air strikes on the militants as the conflict escalates in southeast Turkey.
The news came a day after Turkish police stopped pro-Kurdish politicians on Thursday from marching to the town of Cizre where they say 21 civilians have been killed and a humanitarian crisis has unfolded since authorities imposed a curfew to combat PKK militants.
Hundreds of militants and security force members have died since the PKK and the Turkish state resumed hostilities after the collapse of a ceasefire in July, shattering a peace process launched in 2012 to end a three-decades-old conflict.
On Friday, more than 15 warplanes struck sites where the PKK are located at Qandil, Zap and Avashin in the mountains of northern Iraq in attacks launched shortly before midnight that continued until 5am, the source told Reuters.
Turkey has launched air attacks against targets from the Islamic State group in Syria and PKK bases in Iraq as advances by jihadists in those countries coincide with unrest in southeastern territories in Turkey.
In the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, the largest in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country, suspected PKK militants opened fire on a restaurant frequented by police in the main commercial district on Friday morning, wounding three police officers and one civilian, security sources said. One of the officers was seriously hurt.............http://www.france24.com/en/20150911-many-killed-turkey-cizre-pkk-hdp-mps-march-blocked-kurds-curfew
11/9/15
Iraq's foreign minister has called on Ankara to coordinate with Baghdad in its military campaign against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq following accusations that Turkish forces crossed the border into Iraq last week...
ReplyDeleteIraq has been silent about Turkish airstrikes against the Kurdish militants which began in July and have focused mainly on targets in the mountainous area of northern Iraq near the borders with Turkey and Iran.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari said on Saturday he had summoned the Turkish ambassador last week to object to what he called a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
Jaafari told Reuters that Ankara has not coordinated with Iraq in the campaign, which Baghdad claims included an incursion into Iraq last week by Turkish special forces in pursuit of PKK militants.
"We are for the security of Turkey. Turkey has the right to defend itself," he said ahead of an Arab League conference in Cairo. "But there must be coordination on the ground with the Iraqi government and Iraqi armed forces."
Iraq does not control its northern border with Turkey, which is within the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
Jaafari said Iraq would back operations if they were justified by conditions on the ground and if sufficient measures had been taken to avoid residential areas.
He also reprimanded Doha for hosting a conference earlier this month which Iraqis widely criticized for allegedly including attendees from Saddam Hussein's disbanded Baath party and Islamist hard-liners wanted by Iraqi courts on terrorism charges.
Reuters
13/9/15