Iraq hands Turkey’s ambassador protest letter following latest attack
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed on Thursday a protest letter to the Turkish ambassador in Iraq, calling Turkey to withdraw its forces from Iraq, and provide an official apology and compensation for the victims’ families.
On Wednesday, the Turkish forces struck a tourist resort with heavy artillery in Zakho District in Duhok Governorate in Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), claiming the lives of at least eight, and injuring 23 others.
Iraq’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it had summoned ambassador Ali Riza Guney against the backdrop of the “blatant and criminal assault”, and handed him “a strongly worded” protest letter.
The letter included “the Iraqi government’s condemnation of this heinous crime by the Turkish forces, which took on a new provocative form that cannot be tolerated,” said a statement by the ministry.
The ministry said that “Iraq has the right to take all measures in line with international conventions that would protect its sovereignty, territory and its civilians’ safety.”
The Iraqi government renewed its call for Turkey to withdraw all its forces from the country, asking it to resolve its internal problems away from the Iraqi territory.
The ministry also called on Turkey to give an official apology for the victims’ families and compensate them, noting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue putting all efforts to stand up to this “dangerous shift” in the Turkish attacks.