Iraq summons Turkish ambassador over Zakho deadly bombardment
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that it summoned the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad over the deadly bombardment which killed and injured dozens of civilians in Duhok province’s Zakho town a day earlier.
The bombardment, blamed on Turkey, targeted a village in Zakho on Wednesday, killing nine civilians and injuring 23 others who were tourists from Iraq’s central and southern provinces. The area has seen armed conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for years. Both have blamed one another for the incident.
Iraq’s foreign ministry summoned the ambassador Ali Riza Guney on Thursday, handing him “a strongly worded” protest letter “which included the Iraqi government’s condemnation of this heinous crime by the Turkish forces,” read a statement from the ministry.
The Iraqi government on Wednesday called on Turkey to withdraw all troops from the country. Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for Iraq’s foreign ministry, has told the state media that Baghdad will take diplomatic measures against Ankara, including filing a complaint at the United Nations Security Council.
The deadly attack has been locally and globally condemned but most countries have avoided explicitly blaming Turkey or the PKK.
The bombardment, blamed on Turkey, targeted a village in Zakho on Wednesday, killing nine civilians and injuring 23 others who were tourists from Iraq’s central and southern provinces. The area has seen armed conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for years. Both have blamed one another for the incident.
Iraq’s foreign ministry summoned the ambassador Ali Riza Guney on Thursday, handing him “a strongly worded” protest letter “which included the Iraqi government’s condemnation of this heinous crime by the Turkish forces,” read a statement from the ministry.
The Iraqi government on Wednesday called on Turkey to withdraw all troops from the country. Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for Iraq’s foreign ministry, has told the state media that Baghdad will take diplomatic measures against Ankara, including filing a complaint at the United Nations Security Council.
The deadly attack has been locally and globally condemned but most countries have avoided explicitly blaming Turkey or the PKK.