Iraq wants immediate Turkish withdrawal

A similar demonstration was held in the city of al-Diwaniyah, where hundreds of people censured Turkey’s military intervention in Iraq, urging the Iraqi government to expel the Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad Faruk Kaymakci and sever all ties with Ankara.

Despite this, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey does not plan to withdraw its troops from Iraq and that they would continue their “training process” as agreed with Iraq.

Turkey has a long-running training program at a base near the city of Mosul, IS’s main hub in Iraq.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday defended his country’s deployment of additional forces to Iraq last week, saying it was an “act of solidarity” with Iraq’s fight against the Islamic State group.

Sistani urged citizens to show restraint towards foreign residents of Iraq, after Shiite paramilitary groups threatened to use force against Turkey and target its interests to force it to pull out. “We have no such luxury”, Erdogan said.

“As the leader of a military brigade, I am not fully satisfied with the government’s action, and we are here to say that Iraq’s patience has run out”, said Ali Rubaie, the commander of a unit usually stationed west of Baghdad.

News of the deployment of 150 Turkish soldiers earlier this month triggered a crisis between Ankara and Baghdad, which has appealed to the United Nations Security Council to demand their immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Iraq on Friday sent a letter to the presidency of the UN Security Council demanding that Turkey withdraw its troops from northern Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Hayder Abadi has been under growing pressure to stand up to other nations involved in the ISIS war, particularly with previous United States deployments coming without any invitation from Iraqi officials.

He said Iraq has tried to solve the dispute with Turkey peacefully and diplomatically.

“No-one can say that this (troop deployment) is a surprise”, Davutoglu told foreign reporters in Istanbul before meeting Barzani in Ankara.

A statement by Abadi’s office said the incursion by Turkish troops “is blatant violation of the provisions and principles of the UN Charter and a violation to the sovereignty of the Iraqi state, which happened without the knowledge and consent of the Iraqi authorities”.