The presence of Turkish troops in Iraq is a violation of international law and Iraq's sovereignty, Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Elaraby said Thursday.
"The presence of Turkish troops deep in the Iraqi territory is a blatant violation of the international law and Iraq's sovereignty," Elaraby said at the opening of an Arab League emergency meeting on Turkish military intervention in Iraq.
On December 4, Turkey deployed about 150 troops and 25 tanks to the Bashiqa camp in the northern Iraqi province, without Baghdad’s approval, allegedly as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS or Daesh in Arabic), a group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
The move caused tensions between Baghdad and Ankara. Iraq officially filed a complaint with the UN Security Council, calling on the United Nations to ensure an immediate pullout of the Turkish forces from its country.
On Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that Ankara would continue to withdraw its military troops from the Bashiqa base to another base in Iraq.
CAIRO (Sputnik)
24/12/15
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Arab League Demands Turkish Troop Pullout From Iraq ...
ReplyDeleteThe Arab League on December 24 backed Iraq in its dispute with Turkey over troops Ankara stationed in northern Iraq.
Arab foreign ministers after meeting in Cairo condemned the Turkish deployment as an "assault on Iraqi sovereignty" and a "threat to Arab national security," and demanded that the troops be withdrawn.
Arab League deputy chief Ahmed Ben Heli said the Turkish troops also "increased tumult in the region."
Turkey announced December 20 that it had begun withdrawing troops in a bid to calm tensions with Baghdad.
The troops were in Iraq's Nineveh province near territory held by the Islamic State group (IS) as part of a long-running Turkish program to help train forces fighting IS............http://www.rferl.org/content/arab-league-demands-turkish-troop-pullout-from-iraq/27448312.html
The Arab League has failed to understand Turkey's self-sacrificing and resolved efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the region, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç has said...
ReplyDeleteHis remarks came after foreign ministers of the Arab League condemned Turkish military presence in Iraq and called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from the Arab country.
"The statement of the Arab League, unfortunately, reveals that it has not comprehended both the extent of the threats posed by Daesh to mainly Iraq and our region, and Turkey's self-sacrificing and resolved efforts in the face of this threat," Bilgiç told Anadolu Agency, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.
The spokesman said that no change had occurred in Turkey's will to negotiate with Iraq to maintain mechanisms necessary to boost and deepen cooperation against ISIL.
Turkey has said it has been running a training program at a camp established in Bashiqa, near Mosul, to provide training to Iraqi volunteers as part of its fight against ISIL. Turkish troops at the camp are not assigned combat duties.
On Dec. 4, Turkey reinforced the protection component of its units at the camp due to increasing threats to their security.
Following a series of bilateral talks to alleviate Iraq's concerns, Turkey rearranged the number of troops in Bashiqa and the additional security elements left the camp on Dec. 14.
hurriyetdailynews.com
26/12/15