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Iraq Complains to Arab League About Turkish Military Intrusions
Baghdad has complained to the Arab League about continued Turkish military intrusions into northern Iraq, the official Iraqi News Agency reported on Sunday.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tareq Aziz lodged the complaint in a message sent to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, condemning the recent Turkish intrusions.
Turkish troops stormed into northern Iraq on June 17 and stayed there for three days, Aziz said in the message. Fifty tanks were dispatched to Iraq's Arbil Province and another 40 tanks were deployed in Dahouk and Zakho districts, he added.
He condemned the Turkish intrusions as a flagrant aggression and violation of the Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Turkish move contradicts the United Nations Charter and the international law, he stressed, noting that it went against the principle of neighborliness.
Aziz urged the Arab League chief to step in to stop the Turkish hostile provocative actions and demand Turkey to respect Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Turkish troops repeatedly intrude into northern Iraq to track down members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in the area that lacks the authority of the Iraqi central government.
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