Region | Iraq
Iraq condemns Turkish incursion and demands immediate withdrawal
The Iraqi government condemned the Turkish incursion and demanded an immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq, on Tuesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 16:47 February 26, 2008
- Image Credit: Reuters
- A pilgrim beats her chest as she attends the religious rite of Arbaeen, which falls 40 days after the Shiite holy day of Ashura, in Karbala, 110 km south of Baghdad on Tuesday.
Baghdad: The Iraqi government condemned the Turkish incursion and demanded an immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq, on Tuesday.
The military action was declared a violation of Iraqi sovereignty by spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh, who added that the Turkish government should engage in dialogue with the Iraqis instead.
In a televised statement, Al Dabbagh said, "The Cabinet calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops immediately from bases in Kurdish Iraq''.
Turkey has assured the Iraqi government and the US military that the operation would be limited to attacks on rebels. The U.S. and European Union consider the PKK a terrorist group.
Al Dabbagh acknowledged the threat to Turkey posed by the rebels and said Iraq is willing to work through trilateral discussions with the United States or any bilateral dialogue to prevent the PKK from using Iraqi territory to attack Turkey.
Iraq has also said that land will not be used as a base from which destabilizing operations will be used.
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