Iraq's Fuad Masum asks Turkey to withdraw troops from Bashiqa

Turkey had sent troops to a military camp in Bashiqa, north of Mosul, to train Sunni volunteers in the fight against IS extremists in the area.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi President Fuad Masum on Wednesday called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Iraq as major operations against the Islamic State (IS) are over.

In an interview with al-Hayat newspaper, Masum said the Turkish government should remove its troops from Iraq, stating that “foreign troops have no excuses to remain on Iraqi soil.”

Turkey had sent troops to a military camp in Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul, to train Sunni volunteers in the fight against IS extremists in the area. The Iraqi President stated that since the extremist group had been militarily defeated, the help of Turkish troops was no longer required.

“We do not need the presence of any military forces on the ground in Iraq, but we need cooperation with the countries,” Masum noted, referring to neighbor Turkey.

Multiple Turkish threats of cross-border operations, particularly in northern Iraq’s Sinjar (Shingal), were related to the presence of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in the region.

The PKK announced their withdrawal from Shingal last week, a move Iraq has since confirmed, sending its security forces to control the area instead.

“Foreign troops are not allowed to launch military operations inside Iraq or occupy parts of the country,” Masum told al-Hayat.

On March 26, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim reassured his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi over the phone that Turkey respects the sovereignty of Iraq and would not launch any military operations over the country’s border without Baghdad’s consent.

The presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq since late 2015 has been one of many controversial issues between Ankara and Baghdad over the past few years.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany