Baghdad calls on Turkey to halt airstrikes against PKK in Iraq

The Iraqi Parliament yesterday called on the Turkish government to stop the aerial bombardment of Iraqi villages near the border and described the operations as a “violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and airspace”, a German news agency reported.

In a statement the Parliament said: “The Turkish military aircrafts have inflicted serious damage to the lives and property of the Iraqi people and neighbouring border villages during their bombing operations inside Iraqi territory.”

These raids come “at a time when the Iraqi Parliament is keen to consolidate and develop relations with Turkey on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of others and preserving common interests of the two neighbouring people,” the statement continued.

The Parliament said it welcomes “any sincere effort to confront ISIS” and calls on Turkey to take all the necessary measures to prevent the infiltration of terrorists across the border and calls on the Iraqi government to take all the required steps to stop this violation and prevent its recurrence and “to protect Iraq’s sovereignty and the security of its citizens”.

Turkish warplanes launched intensified air raids against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq following a suicide attack that killed more than 30 people last week.