The deployed soldiers are not combat troops, but have been sent to protect soldiers providing training to Iraqi and Kurdish forces, Erdogan told reporters on December 11 before departing for a visit to Turkmenistan.
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The demonstration Saturday, called for by the umbrella group of Shiite militias in Iraq whose power rivals that of the Iraqi army, was attended by militia leaders and some Shiite politicians.
His remarks came as tensions between Ankara and Baghdad have arisen over the recent deployment of Turkish military troops to Bashiqa, near the northern Iraqi city Mosul. New deployments later prevented.
Iraq has turned to the United Nations Security Council to complain about the deployment of Turkish troops to the country’s north, the U.S. envoy said on Friday.
Erdogan added that Baghdad could not protect Turkish troops in Iraq and that militants were “running wild” in the country.
Additionally, protesters burned the Turkish flag in Iraq’s southern oil-rich city of Basra in protest against Turkey’s military incursion into Iraqi soil.
Abadi claimed that Iraq has already given “Turkey a time limit to withdraw its troops and not to close the door to dialogue”, and called upon the Security Council to “shoulder its responsibilities” by demanding that Turkey withdraw.
Meanwhile, a senior Iraqi politician said that Turkey is plotting to create a Sunni-dominated region in Iraq and Syria by deploying forces to Mosul.
“This is considered a flagrant violation of the principles of the UN Charter, and a violation of Iraqi territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Iraq”, the letter said, according to an unofficial translation of the Arabic original.
Thousands of Shiite militiamen and supporters rallied on Saturday and demanded that Turkish troops immediately withdraw from Iraqi territory, a show of strength by the country’s powerful militia groups and the Shiite political rivals of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
“Turkish troops in Mosul are not there as combatants; they are trainers”. A letter expressing these sentiments is also due to be delivered to the Iraqi PM by a high-level Turkish delegation.
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It did not say what the troop reorganization would involve, but said agreement was reached to start work on creating mechanisms to deepen cooperation with the Iraqi government on security issues.
