United Nations chief calls on Turkey, Iraq to ease situation through dialogue

Thousands of Iraqis have taken to the streets of Baghdad to condemn Turkey’s illegal deployment of troops to the northern territory of Iraq.

At least 4,000 demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad on Saturday, and several thousand more in the oil city of Basra in the south, including militia members who held up anti-Turkey banners.

The Islamic State captured the major northern city a year ago.

The letter, which was seen by reporters, was sent after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi instructed the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to lodge a formal complaint with the UN.

In a stamen today, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman said that his county reserves its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to put an end to the Turkish violations which prejudice relations of good neighbourliness, and endanger global security and peace.

The Iraqi defense minister had been scheduled to visit Turkey, but al-Jaafari preferred to host the Turkish minister over tensions between Ankara and Baghdad, Çavuşoğlu said on December 11 in a televised interview.

Sistani urged citizens to show restraint towards foreign residents of Iraq, after Shiite paramilitary groups threatened to use force against Turkey and target its interests to force it to pull out.

Earlier on Saturday, al-Abadi once again condemned the deployment of Turkish troops to northern Iraq and stressed that Baghdad regards it not as an anti-terrorist action but as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“There’s growing alarm from the Iraqi government”, Power said.

Erdogan said: “Withdrawal is out of the question for the time being”.

Iraq’s leading Shia religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also criticised the presence of Turkish soldiers on Iraqi territory during a Friday prayers sermon delivered by one of his representatives.

A number of Iraqi military and political figures – including former prime minister and current lawmaker, Nouri al-Maliki, and the commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilizations Forces, Hadi al-Ameri – were present in the rally.

Turkey insists the forces were deployed to protect trainers working with Iraqi forces at the site, but Baghdad has repeatedly demanded their withdrawal and complained to the UN Security Council.