US urges Turkey to respect Iraqi sovereignty amid deployment in Kurdistan
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States urged Turkey on Tuesday to coordinate with Kurdish and Iraqi authorities when carrying out cross-border operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and to respect the country’s sovereignty. This comes amid Ankara’s fresh deployment of troops to Duhok province ahead of an expected offensive.
“While we recognize the ongoing threat posed by the PKK, we also urge the Turkish government to respect Iraqi sovereignty and to coordinate military operations,” a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw English via email in response to a question about Turkey’s latest deployment of troops to Duhok province and establishing checkpoints in several villages.
“We have urged the Government of Türkiye to coordinate with Iraqi and IKR [Iraqi Kurdistan Region] authorities on cross-border military operations and to protect civilians from harm,” the spokesperson added.
Turkey, in recent days, established checkpoints in several villages in Duhok province, creating obstacles for locals who said the soldiers had asked for their identification cards.
“When I was returning home, I was asked for my identification card at the checkpoint in Turkish, but I did not understand,” a resident of Kani Masi subdistrict in Amedi town, told Rudaw last week on the condition of anonymity.
“Later one of the soldiers asked me in Kurdish. I said I do not have it with me … they said ‘go, but bring your identification card with you next time’,” the villager added.
Clashes also have erupted between the Turkish forces and the PKK fighters in several villages, causing numerous wildfires. Both sides blame one another for the blazes.
“Using civilians in the village of Dargale as [human] shields, the terrorists fired mortar bombs at our troops and began setting fire to the forests so that their location could not be determined,” said the Turkish defense ministry in a statement last week.
The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have yet to comment on the latest escalations in Duhok province.
Baghdad earlier this year labeled PKK as a banned organization ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rare visit to Iraq in April. Both countries signed numerous agreements which included security.
The recent escalation in attacks is a part of Turkey’s plans to eradicate the Kurdish group along its southern border with the Kurdistan Region. Erdogan said in March that Ankara is close to completing a zone that will “permanently resolve” the security issues along their border with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq by the summer.
“This summer, we will have permanently resolved the issue concerning our Iraqi borders,” Erdogan said at the time, and called on everyone in the region to respect Ankara’s security strategy, “Otherwise, they will be the cause of the tensions that will arise.”
Turkey has carried out more than 800 attacks on the Kurdistan Region and Nineveh province so far in 2024, according to data from Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights organization and conflict monitor tracking Ankara’s operations in the Kurdistan Region.
“While we recognize the ongoing threat posed by the PKK, we also urge the Turkish government to respect Iraqi sovereignty and to coordinate military operations,” a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw English via email in response to a question about Turkey’s latest deployment of troops to Duhok province and establishing checkpoints in several villages.
“We have urged the Government of Türkiye to coordinate with Iraqi and IKR [Iraqi Kurdistan Region] authorities on cross-border military operations and to protect civilians from harm,” the spokesperson added.
Turkey, in recent days, established checkpoints in several villages in Duhok province, creating obstacles for locals who said the soldiers had asked for their identification cards.
“When I was returning home, I was asked for my identification card at the checkpoint in Turkish, but I did not understand,” a resident of Kani Masi subdistrict in Amedi town, told Rudaw last week on the condition of anonymity.
“Later one of the soldiers asked me in Kurdish. I said I do not have it with me … they said ‘go, but bring your identification card with you next time’,” the villager added.
Clashes also have erupted between the Turkish forces and the PKK fighters in several villages, causing numerous wildfires. Both sides blame one another for the blazes.
“Using civilians in the village of Dargale as [human] shields, the terrorists fired mortar bombs at our troops and began setting fire to the forests so that their location could not be determined,” said the Turkish defense ministry in a statement last week.
The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have yet to comment on the latest escalations in Duhok province.
Baghdad earlier this year labeled PKK as a banned organization ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rare visit to Iraq in April. Both countries signed numerous agreements which included security.
The recent escalation in attacks is a part of Turkey’s plans to eradicate the Kurdish group along its southern border with the Kurdistan Region. Erdogan said in March that Ankara is close to completing a zone that will “permanently resolve” the security issues along their border with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq by the summer.
“This summer, we will have permanently resolved the issue concerning our Iraqi borders,” Erdogan said at the time, and called on everyone in the region to respect Ankara’s security strategy, “Otherwise, they will be the cause of the tensions that will arise.”
Turkey has carried out more than 800 attacks on the Kurdistan Region and Nineveh province so far in 2024, according to data from Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights organization and conflict monitor tracking Ankara’s operations in the Kurdistan Region.