President Erdogan: Turkey can’t remain indifferent to events in Iraq

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that Turkey cannot remain indifferent to the events in Iraq.

Erdogan made the remarks speaking at the International Istanbul Law Congress on October 17, Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan said that Turkey will take part in the operation to liberate the city of Mosul from the militants of the “Islamic State” (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group, as well as in the subsequent settlement of Mosul’s issue at the negotiating table.

He said that no one should expect that the Turkish military will leave the Bashiqa base in Northern Iraq, from where the operation against the IS is being carried out.

Regarding the situation in Syria, Erdogan stressed that Turkey will continue to fight against terrorism in the neighboring country.

“Turkey will be there, no matter what happens,” Erdogan said. “If we are faced with the threat of terrorism, if our country comes under artillery and rocket attacks, we will enter Syria. In legal terms, it is our right to self-defense.”

The operation to regain Iraqi state government’s control over Mosul began on Monday morning. In addition to Iraqi government forces, the operation involves local militia ‘Peshmerga’ (Kurdish fighters in Northern Iraq). The attack is supported by the international Anti-Terrorism Coalition’s Air Force.

The terrorist organization "Islamic State" considers Mosul as its main stronghold in Iraq.

Being one of the key oil centers of Iraq, the city of Mosul went entirely under the control of the IS terrorists in June 2014. It is the second largest city of Iraq with a population of 1.3 million people. The number of IG militants concentrated in Mosul is more than 6,000 people.

The UN informs that more than 3.4 million people are now displaced in Iraq -- more than half of them children, while more than 10 million are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.