Mosul: Turkey insists its forces 'cannot remain idle'

BBC ^

[BenLurkin]

PM Binali Yildirim said it might be necessary to take action because Iraq and the US had not kept their promises.

He said both countries had allowed Shia militias and Kurdish separatists to take part in the operation.

Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi on Saturday told the US that there was no need for Turkish forces as yet.

Fighting on the sixth day of the offensive on Saturday was reported to be intense, as the Iraqi military seized more ground.

...

Correspondents say Mr Abadi's refusal to countenance the prospect of Turkish involvement in the Mosul offensive could upset Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, who has warned of sectarian bloodshed if the Iraqi army relies on Shia militias to retake Mosul, which is mostly a Sunni Muslim city.

Mosul was once part of the Ottoman empire and Turkey sees the city as squarely within its zone of influence.

"I know that the Turks want to participate, we tell them thank you, this is something the Iraqis will handle," Mr Abadi said after meeting Mr Carter in Baghdad on Saturday.

"If help is needed, we will ask for it from Turkey or from other regional countries," he said.

Mr Carter [US Defence Secretary]meanwhile indicated his conditional backing for a possible Turkish role in the campaign, pointing out that there was an agreement in principle that could allow for eventual Turkish participation.

"Turkey... has an interest in the ultimate outcome in Mosul. Many other parties do as well. It's a complicated city," he said.

[shanover]

Sure let Turkey join the party, what could go wrong? /s I don’t even know who the “good guys” are anymore. A President Trump, his Sec. of State and generals would say, “stay the hell out of Iraq!”. Obama, Kerry and Carter are nuts and very naive to say the least.

[butlerweave]

Turkey is about to lower it’s population to help save the world from Global Warming

[cpdiii]

This is actually about Turkey taking over the Kurd areas of Iraq. It is that simple.