Turkey- Iraq: Foreign military support must have consent of gov’t

About 10 Turkish military vehicles left the camp early Monday, Turkish and Iraqi officials said, and they are moving to another base in northern Iraq.

Nevertheless, Iraq continues to insist on the “immediate” withdrawal of the latest deployment of Turkish troops which Baghdad views as “illegal” and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and the UN Charter.

The training mission has been in operation since March and is not assigned combat duties.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the number of troops deployed in northern Iraq may fluctuate.

Atheel al-Nujaifi, the former Mosul governor who established the Sunni militia camp where Turkish trainers and troops were stationed, confirmed that Turkey pulled out some troops.

Turkey has shifted some of its troops stationed in Camp Bashiqa near Iraqi city of Mosul to the north close to the Turkish border.

The deployment led to the current tension between Ankara and Baghdad, with the latter asserting that Turkey violated Iraqi sovereignty.

“We at the Nineveh provincial council do not have any issues with having Turkish troops near Mosul because they are training the soldiers to be prepared for Mosul liberation offensive”, he explained.

The reports did not say if the troops were going back to Turkey or would be sent elsewhere in Iraq.

“During a visit to Turkey in 2014, [Iraqi PM Haider] al-Abadi demanded [the dispatch of Turkish troops] for training”, Erdogan said Friday.

“Taking into account the Iraqi government’s sensitivity, the decision was taken to reorganize the military personnel in the protection force at the Bashiqa camp”, Davutoglu’s office said.

A furious Putin also snubbed a meeting with Erdogan at a climate summit in France late last month and has refused to take phone calls from the Turkish leader.