Iraq summons Turkish envoy over bombardment of Kurdish town
Representational photo
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that it summoned Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad Fatih Yıldız in protest at the last week’s bombardment of the town of Shaladze in the autonomous Kurdistan region, which left several people killed and wounded.
The Turkish bombardment “violates our country’s sovereignty and contradicts with fraternal and brotherly ties between the two countries,” Baghdad Today quoted the ministry as saying in a statement.
The ministry further stressed that Baghdad “will not allow any country to use the Iraqi territory to endanger the security of neighboring countries.”
Angry protesters stormed a Turkish military base in Kurdistan region on Saturday, damaging military vehicles and equipment in a confrontation that left two people dead and another 15 injured, according to DW.
The Turkish military regularly carries out air raids in northern Iraq on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is headquartered in the Qandil Mountains and has guerrilla outposts and bases scattered throughout the Turkey-Iraq-Iran border region. Ankara has also conducted dozens of cross-border land operations targeting the PKK over the years.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed to destroy the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) following the attack on the Turkish military base.