Turkey violates Iraqi airspace to ‘pursue terrorists’ amid Arab condemnation

Eslam Mohamed

Ankara has been subjected to Iraqi and Arab condemnation for violating Iraqi airspace as part of its Operation Claw-Eagle, in which it claimed that its aircraft destroyed terrorist tunnels, in reference to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey has classified as a terrorist organization, and the killing of a number of PKK members during the strikes, according to the Anadolu Agency. The Turkish Defense Ministry said that it had destroyed 81 PKK targets, including caves, bunkers and fortifications, which resulted in heavy losses among the Kurdish group.

The ministry stated that its operations against the PKK would continue until the last terrorist is killed, while Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Fatih Yildiz stressed on Monday, June 16 that the PKK is a common enemy of Turkey and Iraq “whose head must be crushed.”

However, Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Yildiz and delivered a memorandum of protest against the operation in northern Iraq. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also denounced Turkey’s operation, stating that it represents an attack on Iraq’s sovereignty and is taking place without coordinating with the government in Baghdad. He added that this reflects Ankara’s disdain for both international law and its relations with its Arab neighbors.

The Iraqi Joint Operations Command denounced Turkey’s violation of Iraq’s airspace and the targeting of a refugee camp near Sinjar in the north of the country. It called for an end to these violations, adding that Iraq is fully prepared to cooperate and control the security situation on its borders.

Complaint to UN

On Tuesday, the Iraqi Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee revealed support for filing a complaint with the United Nations in protest against the Turkish bombing of Iraqi territory.

The bombing, according to local media, led to the displacement of about 2,500 people in the provinces of Nineveh and Duhok.

Iranian forces also launched a bombing campaign of the Kurdistan region in conjunction with the Turkish bombing, causing many losses in the region, which came after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Turkey to discuss regional arrangements.

The timing of the operation at the beginning of the summer and the exposure of the dense vegetation in the mountainous border areas enhances the possibility of a Turkish land incursion in conjunction with the air operation. Kurdish news has reported that the Turkish army has brought reinforcements to the outskirts of the Kurdish Bradost region at the crossroads of the Iraqi-Iranian border.

Problem for Baghdad

Iraq hosts a number of Turkish military bases, including the famous Bashiqa base in the Kurdistan region. This issue has been a problem for the Baghdad government in recent years, but Iraq’s demands have always been rejected by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the pretext of PKK-affiliated terrorist groups existing in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains that threaten Turkish national security.

But on January 5, the Iraqi parliament passed a law to remove foreign forces from Iraq, including Turkish forces, not just American.