Iraq denies cooperation with Turkey in attacks on Kurdish fighters

ByNews Desk- The Cradle

The Turkish president had earlier claimed Baghdad supported Ankara's military offensive in northern Iraq against the PKK

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any cooperation with Turkish forces in Ankara’s recent military operation in northern Iraq.

Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf made the denial on 21 April, saying that Baghdad “strongly condemned” the Turkish military offensive and described it as an act in violation of its sovereignty and national integrity.

“The Government of the Republic of Iraq categorically rejects, and strongly condemns the military operations carried out by the Turkish forces in the areas of Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan, in northern Iraq,” the spokesman said.

Al-Sahaf pointed out that the authorities, while demanding that their territory not become a “meeting or starting point for harming any neighboring country,” likewise do not accept their territory becoming “the scene of conflict and settling of scores by external forces.”

Following the Turkish military incursion into the Kurdish region of northern Iraq on 18 April, Iraqi officials from across the board have condemned the action as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

The Turkish military launched attacks into the Iraqi border to quell what they claim are threats from Kurdish militant groups, particularly the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), operating near the Iraqi-Turkish border.

Dubbed Operation Claw Lock, the Turkish military allegedly seeks to prevent cross-border terror attacks. Additionally, Turkey claims that the PKK was planning a large-scale assault.

The Iraqi foreign ministry has labeled the incursion into its borders as illegal, stating that it “considers this action a violation of its sovereignty and sanctity; an act that violates international covenants and laws that regulate relations between countries.”

Condemnation also came from Sadrist movement leader, Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who stated that any military activity on Iraq’s borders must be made in coordination with Baghdad prior to action.

“We will not remain silent if Turkey repeats this action. Iraq is a fully sovereign state and will not accept aggression nor destabilization of security against either Iraq or friendly neighboring countries,” Al-Sadr said.