Arab League to meet to discuss Turkish troops in Iraq

The Arab League said Wednesday it will hold an extraordinary meeting of its foreign ministers next week to discuss Turkey's deployment of troops in Iraq, which has been opposed by the Baghdad administration.

Soldiers and tanks were sent to a military camp in northern Iraq earlier this month, a move Ankara said was necessary to protect forces carrying out training in the fight against Daesh terrorists.

The meeting will be held on December 24 at the request of Iraq, the Cairo-based body's deputy chief, Ahmed Ben Heli, told reporters.
On Tuesday, Baghdad demanded the "complete withdrawal" of Turkish forces from its territory.

Turkish and Iraqi officials said forces and equipment were withdrawn Monday, but the trainers apparently remained, and Ankara has other military sites in northern Iraq.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Monday that "there has been a shifting of the (military) forces, and that Ankara did "what was necessary to do from a military point of view."

But Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu indicated that forces remained at the training site, saying the number of troops there and at other locations "may increase or decrease as required."

Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has close ties with Ankara and is unlikely to back Baghdad in its efforts to see the Turkish forces go home.

On December 4, 150 Turkish soldiers equipped with heavy weapons arrived on the outskirts of the Daesh-held Mosul province in Northern Iraq to train forces, while Baghdad demanded the withdrawal of soldiers. Iraq on Sunday, gave Turkey a 48 hour ultimatum to withdraw the forces or face "all available options."

Turkey said the 150 soldiers and up to 25 tanks were stationed at Bashiqa to protect servicemen training Iraqi volunteers to fight Daesh.

The training mission has been in operation since March and is not assigned combat duties.

PM Davutoğlu previously sent a letter to his Iraqi counterpart Haider Al-Abadi in which he emphasized Turkey's commitment to cooperation with Iraq, and said, "We will not deploy more troops to Bashiqa until your concerns about the matter are assuaged."

According to the statement released by the Prime Ministry on Sunday, Davutoğlu informed Al-Abadi about the military training program currently in progress in Bashiqa, duties and activities of Turkish soldiers and current developments about the matter.