Turkey invasion of Iraq violation of international law: Analyst

Tensions have been simmering lately between Baghdad and Ankara over Turkey's military presence in northern Iraq. The government in Baghdad has earnestly called for the withdrawal of Turkish forces, arguing that their presence is not needed and that they only impede Iraq's ongoing battle against the Daesh terrorists. Talking to Press TV about the issue, Marcus Papadopoulos, Politics First publisher and editor has noted that Turkey has been illegally occupying northern Iraq which is a “blatant” and “flagrant” violation of international law.

"The sanctity of internationally recognized borders is a linchpin of the United Nations and of international law. All United Nations members have recognized the sanctity of Iraq’s internationally recognized borders. [Yet] here we have Turkey having sent over its army into Iraq to allegedly fight ISIS (Daesh) when the irony of course is that Turkey has long been supporting ISIS,” Papadopoulos opined.

He went on to say that the Iraqi army has every right under international law to attack Turkish military forces and expel this “army of occupation” from its territory.

Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used harsh words in response to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's demand that Turkish forces pull out of his country. Erdogan has stated that the Turkish army would not take orders from Iraq to leave the country.

Papadopoulos further mentioned that the issue of Turkey’s incursion into Iraq is not brought up in mainstream media simply because historically, the West – particularly the United States and Britain - has had a very close relationship with Ankara.

“The Americans and the British gain from that relationship with Turkey and, likewise, Turkey gains from its close relationship with America and Britain … So it [Turkey] sends its forces into northern Iraq. The American and the British governments do not say anything about it. So the American and British media won’t say anything about it. Because [they are] not independent, [and are] very much part of the American and British elites. Then we have Turkey sending its forces into northern Syria once again without even a word coming out of Washington or London,” he said.

The analyst also noted that Turkey is a “staunch” ally of the United States and Britain, adding that it has a blank check from American and British leaders to “act with impunity” in the Middle East.

For more than a year, Turkey has maintained a contingent of its troops in northern Iraq, alleging that it is training local forces in their fight against Daesh Takfiri terrorists. However, tensions have escalated as the Iraqi government prepares for a major offensive to retake the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh, from Daesh.

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