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Iraq
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar visits troops at Bilic Hill in the Kurdistan Region on May 1, 2021. Photo: ministry handout
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s foreign ministry on Monday summoned Turkey’s top diplomat over the country’s “continued violation” of Iraqi sovereignty, including a recent “uncoordinated” trip by the Turkish defense minister to border areas of the Kurdistan Region, the ministry said in a statement.
The Iraqi foreign ministry’s senior secretary Nizar Khayrullah summoned the Turkish embassy’s charge d'affaires, handing him a memorandum which noted “strong dissatisfaction and condemnation of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi [Akar’s] presence on Iraqi territory without coordination or prior approval from relative authorities, as well his meeting with Turkish forces who are there illegally,” read the statement from the Iraqi ministry, without naming the Turkish diplomat.
Akar visited Turkish soldiers at a military base in the Kurdistan Region on Saturday amid the country’s fresh offensive against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Duhok province.
The Iraqi foreign ministry also said that Khayrullah stressed that his country “categorically rejects the continued violations of Iraqi sovereignty and the sanctity of Iraqi land as well as its airspace by Turkish military forces.”
The PKK is an armed Kurdish group that has fought the Turkish state for decades, seeking increased rights of Kurds. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization and a threat to its national security. It frequently sends fighter jets, attack helicopters, drones, and ground troops across the border to fight the group.
Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu told members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) last week that the army will establish a new military base in the Metina area of Duhok province.
The Iraqi foreign ministry condemned Soylu’s remark as well.
Two weeks ago, the Turkish military launched new operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region. The Metina area, on the border, is the focus of Operation Claw-Thunderbolt, and Operation Claw-Lightning targets the Avashin and Basyan areas further east.
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