Home » The campaign against the Kurds reignites tensions between Baghdad and Ankara – Zuhair al Jezairy

The campaign against the Kurds reignites tensions between Baghdad and Ankara – Zuhair al Jezairy

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The campaign against the Kurds reignites tensions between Baghdad and Ankara – Zuhair al Jezairy

Iraqis who had fled from the heat of the cities to the north, in the mountains of the Kurdish autonomous region, woke up under heavy bombardment on 20 July. Nine civilians were killed, including some children, and 26 were injured.

The Claw-Lock military operation launched by Turkey in April targets fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

This latest attack occurred soon after the arrival of twenty busloads of tourists from the central and southern regions of the country, where temperatures reached 50 degrees. According to the owner of the targeted tourist site, “the place was extremely calm before the tragic bombing, and there is no PKK activity in the mountainous area, which is surrounded by Turkish checkpoints.”

Words of condemnation
For weeks the area has been the destination of a strong influx of tourists, and it was absolutely quiet at the time of the bombing, when it is estimated there were about 1,200 guests. In a previous statement Jia Amin, director of the Zakho tourism department, predicted that the turnout would reach 270,000 tourists. But his hopes collapsed after the bombing.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi, as always, condemned the damage caused “to the life and safety of Iraqi citizens”.

Iraq recalled its charge d’affaires from Ankara and summoned the Turkish ambassador, demanding an official apology from Turkey and “the withdrawal of its armed forces from all Iraqi territory”. The Turkish foreign ministry denied any responsibility in the attack accusing “terrorist organizations” of using these attacks for propaganda purposes.

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Anger against Turkish aggression is intensifying among Iraqis. Hundreds of protesters protested in front of the Turkish consulate in Baghdad. Twenty-eight Iraqi parties and organizations have pressured Prime Minister Al Kadhimi to take a clear stand against repeated Turkish attacks on state sovereignty.

“A verbal condemnation is not enough,” the leader of the Sadrist movement Moqtada al Sadr wrote on Twitter. “We have to start an escalation through four successive phases: starting with the withdrawal of Iraqi diplomats from Turkey, passing through the boycott of Turkish commercial companies and a complaint to the UN Security Council, ending with the breaking of agreements”.

(Translation by Francesco De Lellis)

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