PHOTO: A Turkish tank moves into the Bashiqa base in northern Iraq in early December
Amid pressure from Washington from Baghdad, Turkey has said that it will continue to withdraw troops from a military base in northern Iraq, citing miscommunication with the Iraqi Government over the deployment of the forces.
Two weeks ago, Ankara sent between 150 and 300 troops to the base at Bashiqa, near the Islamic State’s center of Mosul. The Turkish military said the soldiers, with 20 tanks and other armored vehicles, were replacing 90 personnel who have trained more than 2,500 Kurdish peshmerga for the fight against ISIS.
However, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi protested the deployment as an “illegal incursion” and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. He called for the immediate removal of the new troops and threatened to take the matter to the UN Security Council.
Ankara quickly said that it would not send in more troops, although those already at the base would remain. This was not enough for Baghdad, which continued to insist on full withdrawal.
This week, Turkey withdrew some troops after talks between Turkish and Iraqi leaders, but on Friday, President Obama urged Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “to de-escalate tensions with Iraq, including by continuing to withdraw Turkish military forces”.
On Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said soldiers would continue to leave the base:
Turkey reiterates its support for Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and acknowledges the miscommunication with the government of Iraq over the deployments of Turkish protection forces.
Turkey will continue to coordinate with the government of Iraq its military contributions to the fight against Daesh [Islamic State]. Turkey reaffirms its commitment to deepen cooperation with the global coalition to counter Daesh.
