Iraqi PM Calls Turkish Airstrikes Violation of Sovereignty


Iraqi PM Calls Turkish Airstrikes Violation of Sovereignty

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Baghdad views Turkish airstrikes in the country as “a dangerous escalation and a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.”

In a three-part message posted on his official Twitter account on July 28, al-Abadi said that the council of ministers is committed “not to allow any attack on Turkey from Iraqi territory and called on Turkey to respect good relations.”

Turkey launched a wave of airstrikes in Iraq last week targeting militants with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in the country’s northwest as it also hits Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets in Syria, AP reported.

However, contrary to the declared objectives, Turkish tanks also shelled Kurdish-held villages in north Syria, injuring fighters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

On July 25, leader of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani held a telephone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu and “expressed his displeasure with the dangerous level the situation has reached.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara would press ahead with its attacks to the full, saying, “Any step back is out of the question.”

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