Ankara, Baghdad tensions could benefit Daesh

Turkey has already crossed swords with Syria and Russia, and this new confrontation with Iraq will make things worse.

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Published: Mon 7 Dec 2015, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 8 Dec 2015, 7:59 AM

The Turkey-Iraq standoff over Turkish troop incursions will need cool heads for a quick resolution. Iraq has threatened diplomatic action through the UN. Ankara should immediately pull back its troops before the situation spirals out of control. Turkish troops are near Mosul, a hotbed of Daesh activity, where they are training friendly Kurdish troops against the terrorists, but they may have gone too far into Iraqi territory.
Turkey argues that its forces have been stationed inside Iraq's territory for long, as they were mandated to train Iraqi Kurdish forces fighting Daesh. Thus this additional deployment in the town of Bashiqra should be seen as a logistical impediment and not as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. Turkey has promised not to send additional troops to the area, which has not satisfied the Iraqis, who view this as an incursion.
Ankara's current approach will not help in easing tensions. Turkey has already crossed swords with Syria and Russia, and this new confrontation with Iraq will make things worse, impacting peace and security in the region.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who has defended the move as a routine troop rotation at a pre-established camp, should reach out to his Iraqi counterpart Haider Al Abadi, and sort out the issue before Daesh gains from divisions between the two sides.


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