Iraqi parliament says country ‘will not be a launchpad’ for attacks on neighboring countries
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s parliament on Sunday rejected Turkey's new operation in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province while emphasizing that Iraqi soil should not be used as a staging ground to launch attacks on neighboring states.
Ankara last week announced a new phase in a series of operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. The operation, dubbed Claw-Lock, is an air and ground assault that heavily focuses on mountainous areas within the Region's borders with Turkey, where the PKK maintains a presence.
The Iraqi parliament “rejects the presence of any armed organization or military force that uses our land as a launchpad for attacking neighboring countries," Hakim al-Zamili said in a meeting attended by several high-level officials, including Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Hassan al-Athari, head of the Sadrist bloc.
Prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr previously warned Turkey for its continued violation of Iraqi sovereignty, stressing that Iraq is a "fully sovereign country" and that it "will not be silent" should its northern neighbor's violations continue.
Zamili added that there are "no legal justifications for the repeated attacks on our country by Turkey or Iran," as he declared the Iraqi people's lack of interest in "the language of wars and transgression on borders," instead indicating a desire for "stability, prosperity, and cooperation."
Iraq is often targeted by its neighboring Iran and Turkey.
Shakhawan Abdullah, the second deputy parliamentary speaker, condemned Turkey’s continued violation of Iraqi sovereignty later on Sunday, voicing clarity over Iraq’s position by announcing “the official rejection of the violation of sovereignty and the use of our lands to conduct military operations by Turkey,” while also denouncing Iran’s recent missile strike in Erbil.
Last month, Iran fired a dozen ballistic missiles hitting several areas on the outskirts of Erbil.
Ankara, however, carries out frequent operations against the PKK stationed in the Kurdish mountains. Turkey considers the armed group a terrorist organization.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed on Wednesday that the fresh assault is carried out in coordination with the Iraqi government, thanking Baghdad and Erbil for their "support." Hours later, the Iraqi government and the Region’s Peshmerga ministry rejected the allegations.
Iraqi officials labeled the operation as a “hostile” and “provocative” violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.
Updated at 7:53 pm