The forces’ arrival was a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and global laws, coming without the consent of the Baghdad government, defense ministerKhaled al-Obaidisaid in a Sunday phone call with Turkish counterpart Ismet Yilmaz that was reported by Iraqi state media.
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Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, though, said the troops were there as part of an ongoing training mission at the request of Mosul’s governor and in coordination with Iraq’s defence ministry. He wrote on Facebook, “Iraq doesn’t need foreign ground troops”, and added, “This will be considered an act of aggression”.
Syria on Sunday condemned Turkey for sending troops to Iraq, which Ankara says are there to train the Kurdish Peshmerga.
A Turkish security source said on Friday the forces would provide training for Iraqi troops near Mosul, which is controlled by Islamic State.
Baghdad has been aware of Turkey’s presence but chose to publicly challenge it only now – underscoring, analysts say, the increasing pressure Mr. Abadi is facing from Iran and its proxies, including Iraq’s former prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. It also is not an anomalous move by Ankara: In addition to ongoing training operations in Kurdish areas, there is a Turkish military presence in the Amedi district of Dohuk province to combat revolutionaries from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known by its Kurdish acronym, the PKK. If true, it’s a serious expansion of a conflict that already looks like the early stages of the Thirty Years War that devastated central Europe.
Backed by the United States.-led coalition, the Kurdish Peshmerga army and Iraqi government forces have been preparing for an extended military campaign to recapture Mosul from the ISIS extremist group.
Turkey’s move “does not respect good neighborly relations” between the two countries, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said on Saturday, calling for the troops’ immediate withdrawal.
Iraq is struggling to assert its sovereignty while receiving foreign assistance against the Islamic State group.
Calls from two American senators for the number of USA troops in Iraq to be tripled, combined with Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter’s announcement that Washington would send a special forces contingent to fight IS in Iraq and Syria, put Abadi under heavy pressure.
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An Iraqi government spokesman in the north appeared to support Turkey’s interpretation, saying they had an agreement to expand the Bashiqa training operation. Turkey has battled with Kurdish rebels at home and in Iraq for decades but has developed a close partnership with the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. Shiite groups also expressed fury after US officials announced last week that more troops would be sent to Iraq.
