Arab League Calls for Immediate Withdrawal of Turkish Forces from Iraq

On Thursday, January 3, Arab countries demanded that Turkey unconditionally withdraw its forces from northern Iraq. They described Turkey's military intervention in Iraq as an "invasion of national sovereignty" and a "threat to Arab national security." In recent weeks, Turkey has deployed dozens of its troops in the Bashiqa area of northern Iraq. Ankara claims that this action is part of efforts to combat the "Islamic State" group and aims to train Iraqi forces for this purpose. However, Iraq condemned Turkey's actions, stating that it did not request such a move from Ankara. According to the Egyptian news agency Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, stated that the foreign ministers of member countries decided in an extraordinary meeting on Thursday in Cairo to demand that the Turkish government "immediately and unconditionally" withdraw its forces from Iraq. Aboul Gheit added that the Arab foreign ministers also urged Turkey not to repeat violations of Iraq's national sovereignty in the future under any pretext. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq's foreign minister, also mentioned in the press conference that they achieved an important accomplishment by uniting Arab countries against Turkey's aggressions... Iraq rejected Turkey's violation of its national sovereignty, and this position aligns with any Arab country facing a similar situation. Earlier this week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry acknowledged a "misunderstanding" with Iraq regarding the deployment of forces in Bashiqa. Turkey also stated that it would withdraw some of its troops from a military base in the Nineveh province but did not provide details about the transfer of these forces and their new location. This week, Turkey transferred some of its troops from the Bashiqa area to another base in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. However, Baghdad insists that all Turkish forces must leave Iraq. Iraq has complained to the United Nations Security Council about Turkey's troop deployment in the Bashiqa region. Ibrahim al-Jaafari has called for a Security Council resolution to compel Turkey to immediately withdraw its forces from Iraq.