“Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statements smell of blood, and the aim is not just Shingal, but all of the Mosul villayet,” Abdulaziz Hassan, a PUK member of the parliament’s Defense and Security Committee, told Rudaw.
Mosul villayet historically refers to the areas of northern Iraq and includes the Kurdistan Region, Nineveh governorate, and Kirkuk. The name evokes nationalist feelings in Turkey.
Turkey has threatened military operation against alleged PKK positions in Shingal, even after the Kurdish group announced withdrawal of its forces and Iraqi forces were deployed to the area.
A letter will be presented in the session and discussions on it will take place, according to Hassan.
“In the letter, we ask the Iraqi government to adopt an official position concerning the threats and statements of Turkey, to know whether there is an agreement between Baghdad and Ankara,” Hassan explained.
The parliament will also address other topics, such as the visit by Iraq’s Speaker of the Parliament Salim al-Jabouri and Kirkuk’s interim governor to Turkey. Hassan said they want to know why they visited Turkey.
“As the Kurdistani factions, we have asked Aram Shiekh Mahmood, the second deputy speaker to place the threats and Turkish military operations on the parliament’s agenda,” Hassan said.
Earlier this week PKK’s umbrella group KCK announced the withdrawal of PKK guerillas from the town of Shingal amid blistering threats by the Turkish president, who announced on Sunday that a military operation in Shingal had begun. The news was denied by the Turkish ambassador to Iraq.
