Turkey may begin ground operations in Iraq
By Gunay Hasanova
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on October 25 that Ankara could launch a ground operation in Iraq to remove any threats to Turkey that may arise.
The minister stressed that if events in Iraq would threaten the security of Turkey, Ankara is ready to take all necessary measures within the international law, the Hurriyet reported.
"If the threat to us increases (there), we can deal with them using our rights under international law and our strength including a ground operation," he added.
The minister said earlier that the PKK wanted to make Sinjar a "second Qandil", but such actions would not be allowed and that Turkey would "intervene more actively" to stop it happening.
Ankara supports opposition rebels to clear the Islamic State group (IS) from its border and halt the westward advance of the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG.
Turkey views the YPG (People's Protection Units) as a terror group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is waging an insurgency in Turkey's southeast.
The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European.
Cavusoglu said any threat against Turkey in neighboring regions of Iraq -- including the northern district of Sinjar -- could draw a response.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced about the preparation of the Turkish Armed Forces for the ground operations within the operation to liberate Iraq’s Mosul from IS militants.
He said that no one should expect that the Turkish military will leave the Bashiqa base in Northern Iraq, from where the operation against the IS is being carried out.
The operation to regain Iraqi state government’s control over Mosul began on October 17.
In addition to Iraqi government forces, the operation involves local militia ‘Peshmerga’ (Kurdish fighters in Northern Iraq). The attack is supported by the international Anti-Terrorism Coalition’s Air Force.
The terrorist organization "Islamic State" considers Mosul as its main stronghold in Iraq.
Being one of the key oil centers of Iraq, the city of Mosul went entirely under the control of the IS terrorists in June 2014. It is the second largest city of Iraq with a population of 1.3 million people. The number of IG militants concentrated in Mosul is more than 6,000 people.
The UN informs that more than 3.4 million people are now displaced in Iraq -- more than half of them children, while more than 10 million are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova
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