Official denies Turkey and Iraq have made any deal over military operations in Kurdistan Region

There is no agreement between Baghdad and Ankara that allows Turkish forces to conduct military operations inside Iraq, Spokesperson for Iraq's Joint Operations Command Tahsin al-Khajafi said on Thursday, May 7.

“The Iraqi government cannot agree with Turkey on bombing our country and this talk is inaccurate and incorrect,” al-Khajafi told a media outlet affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in response to rumors that there is agreement.

He said that Iraqi officials are working in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to address the issue, NRT reported.

On May 3, Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Turkish chargé d'affairs to Baghdad in protest against the entry of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to a Turkish military base in Duhok governorate “without coordination or prior approval” by Iraq.

Turkey routinely violates Iraqi sovereignty as a part of its campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region and northern Iraq. The PKK has waged a decades-long armed struggle for Kurdish rights and autonomy in southeastern Turkey. Many of its bases are in the Kurdistan Region.

At least twelve civilians and two Iraqi border guard commanders have been killed in Turkish airstrikes since last June, when “Operation Claw-Eagle” began.

Reporter's code: 50101

News Code 851

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