Iraq demands emergency Security Council session over Turkish troops

Iraq has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting over the presence of Turkish troops on its territory after warning Ankara of a new war if the soldiers are not pulled out.

Baghdad has asked the council to convene to discuss "Turkish violations on the Iraqi soil and the interference in its internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal said on Thursday. 

Ankara sent troops northeast of Mosul last year in a move which Iraq considers a "blatant violation" of its sovereignty. 

Jamal said Baghdad wants Turkey to withdraw its troops ahead of a major Iraqi military operation to take back Mosul from Daesh terrorists. 

Iraqi officials are upset by Turkish parliament's decision last week to extend the presence of the troops by another year.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad to protest the extension, drawing a tit-for-tat response from Ankara.

Iraq's parliament, meanwhile, adopted a resolution denouncing the extension and asked the government to consider Turkish troops as "occupation forces."

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned that Ankara's insistence on maintaining troops in Iraq could lead to "regional warfare."

Turkey, however, remained defiant, with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim pledging on Thursday to maintain Turkish troop presence "no matter what Baghdad says."

Yildirim said Turkish troops would stay in northern Iraq to prevent alleged "efforts to forcibly change the demographic structure in the region," in an apparent reference to the imminent offensive to take back Mosul. 

SS