ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s national security advisor on Friday called on people to practise restraint when reacting to a deadly attack in Zakho earlier in the week which was blamed on Turkey. He also warned against damaging the country's relations with Ankara. According to Kurdish and Iraqi governments, Turkish forces shelled a touristic site in Parakh village in Duhok province on Wednesday, killing nine Arab tourists and injuring 22 others who were 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. Iraqis have strongly condemned the deadly attack through protests, attacks on Turkish embassy in Baghdad and Turkish visa application centres, calls to boycott Turkish products and anti-Turkey hashtags on social media. Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said during an event on Friday that the reaction to the Zakho attack should not lead to damaging relations with Turkey without mentioning the neighbouring country’s name. “We call on our beloved people and youth to exercise restraint, be calm and not follow calls for sabotaging Iraq’s relations with countries,” said Araji, adding that Iraq should instead seek legal and diplomatic means to deal with the case. Iraqi protesters on Thursday called for the expulsion of Turkish ambassador Ali Riza Guney from the country. The Iraqi foreign ministry said later in the day that it had summoned Guney and handed him a “strongly worded” protest letter. The Iraqi government on Wednesday called on Turkey to withdraw all troops from the country. The government has also said it 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.
