Iraqi Defense Minister Demands Turkey Withdraw Military Trainers

BAGHDAD, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday his country might turn to the United Nations security council if Turkish troops sent to northern Iraq were not withdrawn within 48 hours.

“The Iraqi authorities call on Turkey to… immediately withdraw from Iraqi territory”, a statement from Abadi’s office said.

The Turkish forces were sent to a camp in the semi-autonomous Nineveh province of Iraq, about 50 miles from the Turkish border, and have been training Sunni fighters to retake the city of Mosul, which has been under control of the Islamic State group for the past year.

Along those lines, the NYT quotes Hakim al-Zamili, a Shiite militia leader who also happens to head the Iraqi parliamentary security committee, urging Abadi to attack the Turkish positions near Mosul, sending a message about how “Iraqi sovereignty must be respected”.

Baghdad has been aware of Turkey’s presence but chose to publicly challenge it only now – underscoring, analysts say, the increasing pressure Mr. Abadi is facing from Iran and its proxies, including Iraq’s former prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.

Turkey in the framework of a training mission for nestled fighters in the North of Iraq should have moved 150 soldiers and 20 to 25 tanks.

According to the KRG, Turkish military equipment and experts are to replace an existing unit in the northern Iraq.

Video released on the website of Turkey’s pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper showed flatbed trucks carrying armored vehicles along a road at night, describing them as a convoy accompanying the Turkish troops to Bashiqa.

“The Turkish deployment is aimed at assuring pro-Turkish forces in that area that they’re not alone, and it’s and it’s also a message to Russia”, Ozdemir said.

President Fuad Masum called the move a “violation of worldwide norms, laws and Iraq’s national sovereignty”, and said it was contributing to increased tensions in the region.

“These troops are based now in the camp of Zalkan near the ISIS-held city of Mosul”, another informed source told ARA News.

Islamic State occupies swathes of Iraq and Syria, profiting from disunity among groups opposing it. The U.S.-led coalition has been staging airstrikes against Daesh targets in Iraq and Syria since mid-September 2014.

Turkey committed a “hostile act” by deploying troops to northern Iraq, according to the Foreign Ministry in Baghdad.

However, the future of Turkish forces already in Iraq remains unclear. “For many, this will be viewed as an attempt to break up the Iraqi state”.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador on Saturday to demand an immediate withdrawal of the troops, Baghdad officials said in a statement.