Pat Dollard | Young Americans

A PKK guefrilla fighter walks into a stone hut

Baghdad, Oct 22, (VOI) - Iraqi parliamentary sources said on Monday that Iraqi foreign minister told the parliament that Turkish foreign minister will visit Iraq tomorrow, while the defense minister asserted that Iraq cannot send troops to northern borders without the Multinational forces’ order.

The defense minister also demanded placing the Peshmerga fighters under the command of the general command of the Iraqi armed forces to use their capabilities in defending Kurdish territories.

“The parliament discussed today in a closed session the Turkish threats to invade northern Iraq,” MP from the Unified Iraqi Coalition Sami al-Askari told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

“Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari discussed efforts to reach to an agreement with Turkey and how foreign ministry is dealing with the current crisis,” he explained.

A parliamentary media source said earlier that the Iraqi parliament held a closed session to debate the Turkish threats of military action in northern Iraq and hear reports from three ministers in this regard.

“The parliament began its 19 session of its second legislative term in the Baghdad-based Palace of Conferences under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani and with the participation of over 150 parliamentarians from different political blocs,” the source told the VOI.

“Today’s session will discuss Turkish threats with the participation of Iraqi government representatives,” the source said, in reference to Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zibari, Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir al-Ubeidi and Minister of State for National Security Affairs Shirwan al-Waili,” he added.

“Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will be in Baghdad on Tuesday to hold talks with senior Iraqi officials regarding the current situation,” al-Askari quoted Zibari as saying.

On Sunday the Turkish army said 12 soldiers were killed and 15 others were wounded during clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party’s (PKK) fighters.
Meanwhile, a PKK foreign relations official claimed that the Turkish army “lost more than it announced” during the clashes that occurred on Saturday evening along the Iraqi-Turkish borders.

The lawmaker said that the Multinational forces is responsible for the protection of security in Iraq, calling to place Kurdish Peshmerga fighters under the command of the general command of the Iraqi armed forces to benefit from their capabilities in this situation as it is difficult to send troops from Baghdad or from any province in northern Iraq without Multinational forces’ permission.

“Minister of State for National Security Affairs Shirwan al-Waili, Iraq’s representative in the tripartite committee, said that Iraq agreed with Turkish demands, except the demands regarding the handover of leaders of the PKK on borders,” al-Askari noted.