Thousands protest in Iraq against Turkish troop deployment

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region-Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described Iraq’s complaint at the United Nations over the deployment of Turkish soldiers to Camp Bashiqa near Mosul as “not a honest step”.

The rallies were called by the umbrella group of Shiite militias, which are nearly equal in power to the Iraqi army.

Turkey has had troops in northern Iraq to help train local Kurdish and Sunni forces since 2014 but the arrival of additional troops last week sparked an uproar in Baghdad.

Speaking to press members in the capital Ankara, Davutoglu said: “When it is found necessary, the nature and bulk of the measure [Turkey’s troops deployment] will be re-evaluated, depending on conditions in the field”.

Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk.

“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.

Thousands of Iraqis across the country protested against the deployment of Turkey’s troops to a base near the northern city of Mosul, held by Islamic State militants.

The statement describes the act as a “flagrant violation of the provisions and principles of the U.N. Charter”, adding that it is in “violation of the sanctity of Iraqi territory and the sovereignty of the Iraqi state”.

The latest statement came after a visit to Baghdad on December 10 by a Turkish delegation headed by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Chief Hakan Fidan.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi already appealed to the Security Council during a televised speech earlier Friday.

“We consider any military presence on Iraqi land as foreign aggression which we should stand against using all possible means”, Hadi al-Amiri, a lawmaker who heads the powerful armed Badr Organisation, told protesters in Baghdad.

He said that the United States officials have also spoken about the plot during a recent meeting at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, FNS reported.

It did not say what the troop reorganization would involve, but said agreement was reached to start work on creating mechanisms to deepen cooperation with the Iraqi government on security issues.