Iraq turns to UN Security Council over Turkish incursion

Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has instructed the foreign ministry to lodge a formal complaint at the UN Security Council over an incursion by Turkish troops in the north of the country.

In a statement on his website, Al Abadi asked that the Security Council order Turkey to withdraw its troops from Iraq immediately.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that his country will not withdraw troops from a camp close to the Daesh-controlled city of Mosul, , despite strong objections from Baghdad.

The deployed soldiers are not combat troops, but have been sent to protect soldiers providing training to Iraqi and Kurdish forces, Erdogan told reporters at a news conference that was broadcast live by TRT. Turkey is “determined” to continue the training, he added.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said on Friday that Turkey has decided in talks with Iraqi officials to “reorganise” its military personnel at the Bashiqa camp.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and National Intelligence Agency (MIT) head Hakan Fidan visited Baghdad on Thursday for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Al Abadi on the issue.

“Taking into account the Iraqi government’s sensitivity, the decision was taken to reorganise the military personnel in the protection force at the Bashiqa camp,” Davutoglu’s office said in a statement.

It did not say what the troop reorganisation would involve, but said agreement was reached to start work on creating mechanisms to deepen cooperation with the Iraqi government on security issues.

Davutoglu said on Wednesday the soldiers were sent to northern Iraq after a threat from Daesh militants to Turkish military trainers in the area increased.

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani on Friday criticised the Turkish deployment without Baghdad’s approval.

No country should “send its soldiers to the territory of another state under the pretext of supporting it in fighting terrorism without the conclusion of an agreement... between the governments of the two countries,” Al Sistani said in remarks delivered by a representative at weekly Friday prayers.

Davutoglu has defended the deployment as an “act of solidarity” and said: “When the threats (to the trainers) increased, we sent troops to protect the camp.”

But the base also gives Turkey a foothold in an area where a major ground operation against Daesh is eventually to take place, and where its archfoe, Turkish Kurdish rebel group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, has also sought to expand its presence.

Al Abadi, whose high-profile reform programme has accomplished little in the way of lasting change, can ill afford another setback now, but repeated calls for a Turkish withdrawal have not led to a pullout.

On Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that “it is our duty to address the Baghdad government’s concerns” but indicated that Ankara wanted Iraqi approval for the deployment.

“Especially after starting the fight against (Daesh), threats have increased against Turkey and our forces on the ground. It is the Turkish republic’s duty to ensure our troops’ security,” Cavusoglu said during a live interview on NTV television.

Daesh “still controls around 35 per cent of Iraqi territory. Do you (Iraq) have a force to ensure security of our troops providing training there? No. Then who will protect them? We are discussing this,” he said.

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