Turkish airstrikes rile Iraqi street
Turkey's continuing airstrikes and other military aggression in northern Iraq are increasing tensions and expanding instability in the region.
Turkey resumed airstrikes on the Yazidi heartland of Sinjar in northern Iraq on Aug. 25 after first attacking the area in mid-June. Turkish airstrikes have been going on for months in other parts of Iraq’s Kurdistan.
The Turkish drone struck an Iraqi border guard convoy in the Bradost area, north of Erbil. The strike that killed two senior officers was part of Turkish operations by land and air against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in parts of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Following the incident, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry summoned Turkey’s ambassador to Iraq Fatih Yildiz Aug. 12, calling the strike an act of aggression and a violation of the country’s sovereignty. The Iraqi government canceled the Turkish defense minister’s visit to Baghdad and other scheduled visits by Turkish officials to Iraq.
The Turkish airstrikes have raised great concerns inside and outside of Iraq, as Iraq is already suffering from a lack of security and stability.
The federal government's silence on the repeated Turkish attacks is increasingly angering the Iraqi street, and dozens of Iraqis have held multiple rallies in front of Turkey's embassy in Baghdad Aug. 13 and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
