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Terrorist State of Turkey plans military incursion into Iraq: Report

April 6, 2017 By administrator

Turkey is reportedly planning to launch a military incursion into northern Iraq in an alleged bid to target the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), viewed by Ankara as a terrorist organization.

Turkey’s pro-government Yeni Safak daily reported on Thursday that the campaign would begin in late April or May, after the April 16 referendum on expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers.

Dubbed Tigris Shield, the mission would involve thousands of tanks, vehicles and artillery pieces used in Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria, which ended in March after seven months, the report added.

The report further accused the PKK of having built up nine camps in the northern Iraqi Sinjar district since 2014, when the group moved in to fight Daesh terrorists.

The new operation in Iraq is aimed at cutting off any contact between Sinjar and the Qandil Mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan to the north as well as preventing cooperation between the PKK in Iraq and Kurdish forces in Syria, the report added.

Earlier this week, Erdogan stressed that the Operation Euphrates Shield was only the “first stage” of what he called Turkey’s counter-terrorism battle.

He also warned that the next phases of the operation would be broader, and include the Iraqi areas of Sinjar and Tal Afar.

Since July 2015, Turkish air force has been carrying out operations against the PKK positions in the country’s troubled southeastern border region as well as in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.

A shaky ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared null and void by the militants following Turkish strikes against the group.

Turkey deployed its troops to Iraq in December 2015, claiming that it was part of a mission to train Iraqi Kurdish forces in the fight against Daesh. Some 500 Turkish forces are said to be present at the Bashiqa military camp on the outskirts of the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Baghdad has repeatedly asked Ankara to withdraw its forces from the region, describing Turkey’s military presence in Iraq as an infringement on its sovereignty.

Police, activists clash in Istanbul

Separately on Thursday, Turkish police clashed with activists protesting against the detention of senior staff of the Cumhuriyet newspaper.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: incursion, Iraq, Kurd, Turkey

Iraq Foreign Minister to Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir: End silence on Turkey incursion of Iraq

February 26, 2017 By administrator

Iraqi tribesmen hold national flags and posters bearing a portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan crossed out during a protest against the continued presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, in the southern city of Basra on October 16, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Iraq has asked Saudi Arabia to break its silence on the presence of Turkish troops on its soil as the kingdom’s hawkish foreign minister visits Baghdad to bring rocky relations out of a long freeze. 

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Ja’afari on Saturday received his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir. This is the first such visit by a chief diplomat from the kingdom since 2003.

Turkey sent around 2,000 troops into northern Iraq in December 2015, triggering a diplomatic crisis and prompting Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to warn that Ankara risked triggering a regional war.

According to a statement issued by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Ja’afari told Jubeir that Saudi Arabia must break its silence on the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq, the IRNA news agency reported from Baghdad.

“Ja’afari stressed the need for Riyadh’s efforts to encourage the Turks into leaving the Iraqi land, stating that despite Arab and international consensus on opposition to Turkish troops, they still remain in the Iraqi territory,” the report added.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia have tried to improve strained ties after relations were cut following ex-dictator Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait but the road to normalization has been rocky.

Thamer al-Sabhan became the first Saudi ambassador to Iraq in a quarter century in January 2016 but had to leave the same year after Baghdad demanded he be removed following his remarks about Hashed al-Sha’abi.

Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) forces have played a key role in the fight against Daesh. Ja’afari was one of the most vocal critics of Saudi Arabia at the time and issued several strongly-worded statements against the kingdom and Jubeir himself.

He conveyed to Jubeir both directly on the sidelines of a global conference on the anti-Daesh war last year and in a statement Iraq’s “annoyance” over what he called “unacceptable interference.”

On Saturday, Ja’afari told Jubeir that “Iraq’s policy is based on expanding relations with all countries of the world but it will not allow any meddling in its domestic affairs,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.

The foreign minister also said Iraq “does not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries and has no interest in getting involved” in the lines drawn between some regional countries, possibly referring to Saudi Arabia’s rivalry with Iran.

An Iraqi government official said on Saturday that there was an opportunity for Baghdad to bring Tehran and Riyadh together.

“The whole region is heading towards compromise and Saudi Arabia sees Iraq as an important player to have on its side,” he said. “Iraq’s neutrality could make it a ground for Iranian-Saudi rapprochement.”

The official stressed that despite intense pressure from the street to take a strong stand against Saudi Arabia, Abadi  had “never indulged in aggressive rhetoric against Saudi Arabia.”

Saudi Arabia is very unpopular among most Iraqis and often accused of providing direct support to Daesh terrorists who took over a third of the country in 2014.

Saudi Arabia nominally supports the fight against Daesh but Iraq and other partners have argued it needs to do more to help durably defeat Daesh and its ideology which has roots in the kingdom where Wahhabism is freely preached and promoted.

The kingdom has been accused of having both financially and ideologically contributed to the extremism and sectarianism, which has been taking its toll on its northern neighbor.

“Iraq’s power lies in unity and integrity among its nation and the Iraqi people have proven that they stand united against terrorism and for preserving their territorial integrity,” Ja’afari said on Saturday.

Bilateral ties

In August 2016, Riyadh withdrew Ambassador Sabhan, but instead of naming a new one, seconded Abdulaziz al-Shammari as chargé d’affaires at its diplomatic mission in the Iraqi capital.

Prime Minister Abadi also received Jubeir and his accompanying delegation, a statement from his office said. Both sides “discussed cooperation in various fields, including the fight against the Daesh gangs,” it said.

Abadi’s office also said, “Jubeir congratulated Iraq on the victories achieved against Daesh and pledged Saudi Arabia’s support to Iraq in fighting terrorism.”

Ja’afari and Jubeir, meanwhile, expressed interest in reparation and enhancement of the bilateral ties.

Ja’afari said his country sought “best” Saudi ties geared towards confrontation with common threats, normalization of trade relations, facilitation of Saudi trips by Iraqi nationals, and establishment of direct flights between the two capitals.

Jubeir insisted on the need for bilateral visits, and said there were many elements, promoting the betterment of bilateral ties.

He also claimed that Riyadh treated all Iraqi sects alike and was in favor of unity and calm in the violence-stricken country.

Source: presstv.com

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: incursion, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey

Greece reports mass Turkish air incursions as tensions simmer 138 violations

February 1, 2017 By administrator

Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos speaks during a news conference on an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo, after exiting the Greek airspace, in Athens, Greece, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Michalis Karagiannis

(Reuters) Greece reported mass incursions by Turkish military aircraft on Wednesday, amid tensions over Athens’ failure to hand over Turkish soldiers Ankara accuses of involvement in a coup attempt.

Defense ministry officials said they had recorded 138 violations of Greek airspace over islands in the central and southern Aegean, an unusually high number. They were intercepted, they said.

Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos criticized what he called Turkey’s “cowboy antics”.

“We want peace, we are not looking for a fight or for trouble in the Aegean, but there won’t be an aircraft which will not be intercepted,” Kammenos told Antenna Television.

A Greek court last week blocked the extradition of eight Turkish military officers Ankara accuses of involvement in a failed coup in July 2016. Turkey said relations between the two countries would be reviewed.

Turkey and Greece, members of the NATO military alliance, came to the brink of war in 1996 over the ownership of uninhabited islets known as Imia in Greek and Kardak in Turkish.

A statement by a Greek deputy shipping minister in early January on plans to make 28 small Aegean islands habitable stoked Ankara’s ire.

“Greece is trying to take advantage of Kardak and similar rocky areas. Greece will not be permitted to open new areas here,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said during a roundtable interview with reporters on Wednesday.

On Sunday, Turkey’s chief of staff and the heads of the navy, air force and land forces went to inspect a naval headquarters and passed close to Kardak, the military said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Kammenos flew by helicopter over the region and threw a wreath into the sea to commemorate three Greek officers who died in a helicopter crash during the 1996 crisis.

“It was my obligation to be there … I won’t ask for anyone’s permission,” he said.

(Reporting by Michele Kambas, Renee Maltezou and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Andrew Roche)

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Greece, incursion, Turkey

Iraq: Shia Forces Threaten Turkey Over ‘Incursion’ Into Iraq

December 9, 2015 By administrator

1030557074Shia militias with ties to Iran on Wednesday threatened to attack Turkish forces deployed to Iraqi territory unless Ankara withdraws its troops from the region.

Last week, Turkey deployed troops to a camp in Mosul in northern Iraq. Baghdad condemned the move as a violation of sovereignty and asked NATO to intervene. It also set a 48-hour deadline to withdraw, which has since expired.

Now, the threat by Shia militias adds to the mounting pressure on Turkey, which says the forces are there to train Iraqi troops battling Daesh, also known as ISIL/The Islamic State.

Karim al-Nuri, a spokesman for the Badr Brigade, the largest coalition of Shia militias, likened the Turkish incursion with the occupation of Iraq by Daesh militants and said “all options” were available.

“We have the right to respond and we do not exclude any type of response until the Turks have learned their lesson,” Nuri said. “Do they have a dream of restoring Ottoman greatness? This is a great delusion and they will pay dearly because of Turkish arrogance.”

Turkey on Tuesday said it will not withdraw its soldiers, but it also would not send anymore. Baghdad said it never invited the forces in the first place.

Iraqi parliament members on Wednesday unanimously approved a motion to support the government in taking whatever measures against the incursion it viewed as appropriate.

Several MPs suggested Iraq could wage “economic war” on Turkey, but Jafaar Hussaini, a spokesman for one of the Shia armed groups, Kata’ib Hezbollah, said violence was likely, Reuters reported.

“We say that they military option is still probable and we might reach a stage in the next few days where we start carrying out operations against the Turks, be it against their soldiers or Turkish interests in Iraq.”

Source: sputniknews.com

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: incursion, Iraq, Shia Forces, threaten, Turkey

Baghdad condemns Turkish incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan

September 11, 2015 By administrator

Iraqs-Foreign-minister-Ibrahim-Al-Jaafar-2015-photo-mofa-gov-iq.jpg.pagespeed.ce.6ijunycDNeBAGHDAD,— Iraq on Thursday condemned Turkey for sending ground troops onto its territory in Kurdistan Region in pursuit of Kurdish rebels, calling it a “clear violation” of its sovereignty.
“The foreign ministry expresses its condemnation of the incursion of a number of Turkish military units inside Iraqi territory,” spokesman Ahmed Jamal said in a statement.
“It represents a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty and a clear offence to bilateral relations between the two countries,” he said.

Turkish special forces entered Iraq on Tuesday in what officials termed a “short-term” incursion in pursuit of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) allegedly involved in attacks that killed more than two dozen soldiers and police.

Since it was established in 1984 the PKK has been fighting the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state.

In the 1990s, the PKK limited its demands to establish an autonomous Kurdish region and more cultural rights for ethnic Kurds,who make up around 22.5 million of the country’s 75-million population but have long been denied basic political and cultural rights, its goal to political autonomy. A large Turkey’s Kurdish community openly sympathise with PKK rebels.

The PKK and Turkish forces are again trading attacks on the ground and from the air, upending a 2013 ceasefire between the two sides.

Source: ekurd.net

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Baghdad, Condemns, incursion, Kurd, Turkish

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