The Iraqi government earlier this week demanded the “complete withdrawal” of Turkish troops from its territory after Turkey deployed soldiers and tanks to a military camp near the city of Mosul.
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Turkish foreign ministry said in the statement that “Turkey, in recognition of the Iraqi concerns, is continuing to move military forces from Nineveh province”. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Some troops were moved earlier this week to another base inside Iraq’s Kurdistan region, but Baghdad said that they should be completely withdrawn.
“Taking into account the sensitivities on the Iraqi side…”
The troops movement came after Iraq’s strong reaction to the deployment of the Turkish troops to Bashiqa, which Ankara says was aimed at training Sunni forces in their combat against IS militants. The Turkish military presence had sparked major protests in Iraq last week. “However, both Daesh and the PKK continue to pose significant risks to Turkey’s safety and security from areas beyond the Iraqi government’s reach and it is our right to exercise self-defense”, he added. Barack Obama, however, praised the “contribution” of Turkey to the military coalition against the Islamic State Group (EI), led by the United States.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday to de-escalate the situation, according to the White House.
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Turkey’s UN Ambassador Halit Cevik said the deployment had been taken out of context and that additional troops had been sent to the camp to provide force protection due to increasing threats.
