Protesters in Baghdad call for withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq

Speaking at a press conference, Erdogan said that the troops were there for training Kurdish peshmerga fighters and not combat purposes.

UNITED NATIONS Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday appeared to play down a dispute between Baghdad and Ankara over the deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, saying bilateral talks between the neighboring states to end the row were proceeding favorably.

“It’s a lie. This statement has nothing to do with reality… the Turkish troops have entered Iraq as invaders without a request from Iraqi government and without its permission”, he said.

It said Iraq’s Foreign Ministry is also making contacts with the five permanent members of the UNSC and other countries “to gather worldwide support for issuing a Security Council resolution condemning this violation”.

Dolgov said that he remains downbeat about the UN slapping sanctions against Turkey, given that Ankara is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member supported by the United States.

“We believe Turkey has acted recklessly and inexplicably, carrying out additional deployments on the territory of Iraq without the consent of Iraqi government”, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters.

Russia, already furious after Turkey shot down one of its jets flying a sortie over Syria in November, said it considered the presence of the Turkish forces in Iraq illegal.

Shiite paramilitary groups with ties to Iran threatened to use force against Turkey on Wednesday unless it withdraws its troops from Iraqi territory, after a 48-hour deadline set by the government expired.

They want a weak prime minister who’s not able to challenge the parties and unable to challenge the corrupt.

Tensions between Iraq and Turkey have built up in recent days after Ankara deployed a contingent of between 150 and 300 soldiers, backed by 20 tanks in Mosul.

Ankara and Baghdad will discuss the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq during the Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu’s visit to the country Dec.10, Anadolu agency reported.

At a minimum, Turkey shouldn’t be fanning the flames of Iraq’s internal disintegration and should fall closer in line with western plans to return the region to stability.

Dahmat Agit, a PKK spokesman in Iraq, said the strikes started late on Tuesday at around 11:00 pm (2000 GMT). “We strongly advise those (Turkish citizens) whose stay is not essential (in Iraq) to leave those provinces as soon as possible”, the Ministry said.