Arab League denounces Turkish troop deployment in Iraq

Arab League deputy chief Ahmed Ben Heli said the Turkish troops also “increased tumult in the region”.

Last week, the Iraqi government demanded the “complete withdrawal” of Turkish troops from its territory after Turkey deployed soldiers and tanks to a military camp near the city of Mosul.

“Arab territories are subjected to daily violations, and Arab countries must confront those incursions because history will hold us accountable”, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said during an emergency Arab League meeting held in Cairo.

“The statement of the Arab League, unfortunately, reveals that it has not comprehended both the extent of the threats posed by Daesh to mainly Iraq and our region, and Turkey’s self-sacrificing and resolved efforts in the face of this threat”, Bilgic said.

Baghdad will exhaust all available legal possibilities if Turkey does not withdraw its ground forces from Iraq, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said Thursday.

Turkey has recently announced that it had started withdrawing its troops from Iraq following a call from U.S. President Barack Obama, yet the Iraqi foreign minister insisted that the immediate withdrawal needs to be practically done in action not statement. Turkey says the forces are protecting its military personnel training Iraqi militia to fight against Islamic State militants.

ISIL is the suspect of this fresh attack, during which one local Iraqi citizen was reportedly killed.

Ankara had said the deployment was routine and necessary to protect the trainers, while Baghdad said it was unauthorised and protested to the United Nations Security Council.