Arab League faults Turkish troop deployment in Iraq
Arab foreign ministers condemned on Thursday a Turkish
military deployment in Iraq as an "assault" on the country's
sovereignty, demanding Ankara withdraw the forces.
The Turkish deployment "is an assault on Iraqi
sovereignty and a threat to Arab national security," they said in an Arab
League statement after meeting at the pan-Arab bloc's Cairo headquarters,
reports AFP.
Arab League deputy chief Ahmed Ben Heli read out the
statement at a press conference, in which he added that the Turkish troops
"increased tumult in the region."
Turkey announced on Saturday that it had begun withdrawing
troops in a bid to de-escalate a bitter row with Baghdad and following a call
from US President Barack Obama.
Earlier this month, Turkey deployed troops to a base in
Nineveh province where it has a long-running training programme for forces
battling the Islamic State jihadist group.
But at the Cairo meeting, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim
al-Jaafari said Turkey has insisted on "using the term 'redeployment."
"They (the troops) would be relocated from one Iraqi
area to another Iraqi area. Sovereignty is sovereignty, and the territories are
one," he said.
Later at a news conference, the diplomat said Turkey must withdraw
its troops as soon as possible, but said he understood it could take them
"several days" to do so.
Ankara had said the deployment was routine and necessary to
protect the trainers, while Baghdad said it was unauthorised and protested to
the United Nations Security Council.
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