The country is no place for foreign parties to settle scores, Baghdad said, after Ankara had started a military operation against Kurdish militants on Sunday
FILE PHOTO. Turkish commandos attend a four-week long military training. ©Suleyman Elcin / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Turkish invasion into northern Iraq is “a violation of its sovereignty and the sanctity of the country” that goes against what being a good neighbor is, the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. Ankara launched a new military campaign against Kurdish forces in Iraq on Sunday evening.
Baghdad said it renounced the Turkish military operation waged on its territory. Iraq does not and will not serve as a staging ground for attacks on neighboring countries and should not become “an arena for conflicts and settling scores for other external parties,” the statement said.
Turkey’s Operation Claw-Lock is targeting Kurdish militias in the northern Iraqi regions of Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan, according to the Turkish military. Ankara perceives them as allies of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
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The ethnic Kurdish insurgency fought against the Turkish government for decades and is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey. Over the years, Turkey launched several military incursions into Iraq and Syria targeting Kurdish militias in these countries.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan commented on the new operation on Monday, saying his government was “determined to continue this struggle until terrorism ceases to be a threat to our country, our region, and all of humanity.”
Speaking to a group of foreign diplomats, he said his country expected strong support from friendly countries, particularly in cracking down on financial architecture of terrorist groups. He named the PPK and Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, the organization of US-based Turkish politician Fethullah Gulen and the terrorist group Islamic State among the primary targets for Turkey.
Ankara claims its military action is covered by the national self-defense clause of the UN charter and that it is conducted with utmost respect for Iraqi sovereignty.
