Iraqi army general: Turkish mobilization taking place at the borders

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Jul 2022 08:57

The Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army renewed calls to "send forces from the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga to these areas to take back these lands."

Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army, Abdel Amir Yarallah.

Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army Abdel Emir Yarallah announced that Turkish mobilization is taking place on the country's borders.

During his speech in a special session held by the House of Representatives which was held last Saturday, Yarallah said that there was a memo brought to him demanding not to mention the number of Turkish forces present in Iraq. The session came in light of the recent bombing of Duhok, in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

He said, "I will speak frankly in front of the people's representatives. There are five main bases in northern Iraq for the Turkish forces," explaining that the "bases include more than 4,000 Turkish fighters."

He pointed out that the number of military positions for the Turkish army in 2021 was 40; at the beginning of 2022 they were 90, and today there are 100 military positions inside Iraqi territory, not far distant from Zakho, Amadiya, and Duhok.

Yarallah renewed calls to "send forces from the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga to these areas to take back lands so that there is not a chance that the Turks advance or deploy artillery, thus inflicting losses on the citizens."

He continued to reveal: "There are more or less than 376 kilometers separating us from Turkey within the borders of the Kurdistan region, which means that we, as the Ministry of Defense, do not have the authority, and none of our soldiers are present in this area," adding, "Even if we want to go, we must take official authorization."

According to the Iraqi military official, the federal forces are not present in the Kurdistan region - except for border patrol guards, and they are warning forces, rather than combat forces, and thus cannot protect themselves.

He said, "There is always a situation in wars when the combat forces take the place of the border guards, particularly when the enemy forces attack the country."

The statements of the Iraqi military official come in the wake of the Turkish bombing of a tourist resort in the northern Iraqi province of Duhok, which killed six tourists.

On Sunday, the Iraqi government sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council saying that Baghdad documented more than 22,740 violations committed by the Turkish armed forces.

"Turkey has expansionist goals behind the aggressions it is committing, and there will be no security nor military accord with Ankara," the Iraqi foreign ministry said. "Baghdad's letter included a demand for an apology from the Turkish side to Iraq and its people."

"Baghdad expects the United Nations Security Council to issue a statement denouncing the Turkish violation of Iraq's sovereignty," the foreign ministry's statement said.

On Saturday, the Iraqi parliament discussed in an emergency session the Turkish attacks on northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq movement in Iraq, Sheikh Qais Khazali, called on parliament to issue a resolution obligating the government to remove Turkish forces from Iraq, considering that the ongoing Turkish attacks call for a unified and firm stance.