Syria condemns Turkish soldiers in Iraq; Ankara says they are training Kurds

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Syria on Sunday condemned Turkey for sending troops to Iraq, which Ankara says are there to train the Kurdish Peshmerga.

In a statement, the Syrian foreign minister accused Turkey of a “brazen” violation of Iraqi sovereignty, for sending in troops without approval from Iraq’s central government in Baghdad.

“This flagrant act of intervention is but a part of the subversive role which the Turkish government under the Justice and Development Party has been practicing against Syria and Iraq,” it said.

Last week, after Iraq objected to Turkish troops entering its territory, Ankara revealed it had been training Peshmerga forces in four provinces in Iraq. At least 150 fresh troops and some two dozen tanks were going in to relieve the other trainers, it explained.

Syria and Turkey have an ongoing enmity since the outbreak of the nearly-six year Syrian civil war. Turkey says that the regime in Damascus must step down, and the Syrian president accuses Turkey of supporting and supplying Daesh, or ISIS.