Iraq demands Turkey withdraws forces – UN diplomat
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – On Wednesday, countries’ representatives in the UN Security Council called for an investigation on Duhok attack in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
The representatives did not attribute the attack to Turkey unlike Iraq that stressed it was a Turkish aggression and demanded that the Security Council issues a resolution to withdraw all Turkish forces from Iraq.
On July 20, a resort in Duhok Governorate in the KRI was targeted, killing nine civilians and injuring more than 30 others.
“Shelling and missiles as the new normal for Iraq”, warning that this was a “very risky way to advance interests, and one which further weakens the State of Iraq,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert UNAMI Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq said in an emergency session held by the security Council.
Iraq’s National Security Council strongly condemned the “Turkish attack” and rejected the use of Iraqi territory as a base to attack neighboring countries and “settle accounts,” Plasschaert added.
“This horrific attack demonstrates a shocking disregard for civilian life and for the universally accepted standards of international humanitarian and human rights law,” she stressed.
A committee, established by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, visited the site of the attack to witness the devastation, to collect evidence and to engage with witnesses and local authorities.
Based on its assessment of the evidence collected, the Government of Iraq attributed the attack to Turkey.
Turkey in response denied reports that Turkey carried out attacks targeting civilians in Iraq’s Duhok province.
On Saturday, the Iraqi Foreign Minister noted that more than 22.700 Turkish violations of Iraqi sovereignty had been recorded since 2018.
He also stated that the Foreign Ministry had submitted 296 memoranda of protest against Turkish “interference” since 2018.
Plasschaert concluded her briefing, stressing that Iraq demands that Turkey withdraws its forces from all Iraqi lands and calls for an investigation.
The attack sparked outrage in Iraq, and in response Turkish sites in Iraq were targeted.
On Wednesday at dawn, a missile attack targeted the Consulate of Turkey in Mosul, northwestern Iraq, but no casualties were reported.
Iraq has categorically condemned the Turkish attack, the country’s Foreign Minister, Fouad Hussein, told the Council.
The Iraqi delegation chaired by Hussein is the only party that contributed that attack to Turkey, while other representatives in the council only condemned it and called for an investigation.
“This is a military aggression against the sovereignty and security of Iraq and its territorial integrity, and a violation and threat to regional and international peace and security,” he said.
The Foreign Minister further called for the Turkish government to provide recompense for the damage caused in the wake of the aggression.
In response, Turkey’s Deputy Permanent Representative Öncü Keçeli said his country “is ready to take all the steps to unveil the truth.”
“The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq are breached by terrorist organizations, not by Turkiye,” he claimed, referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
Iraq’s Foreign Minister, following the UN Security Council session, said that Turkey’s claims about the participation of Iraq in the investigation were heard only in the media.