Türkiye’s Defence ministry sources expressed that Turkish and Iraqi armies would allocate commanders to a joint security centre in Baghdad as the two neighbours formed counterterrorism efforts amid the PKK threat. Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense sources disclosed more details of a security agreement signed between Ankara and Baghdad. Sources stated that a Joint Security Coordination Center will be based in the Iraqi capital and co-chaired by generals specified by the two countries. A security and movement centre will also be established at Bashiqa military base in Iraq’s north, sources expressed.
Leading diplomats from the two countries sat in the capital of Ankara earlier this month, and Ankara and Baghdad held the fourth round of their High-Level Security Mechanism. The two nations share a lengthy border, which has been a corner point into Türkiye for the PKK terrorist group. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq on April 22 drew a turning point in Ankara-Baghdad relations, especially in the fight against the terrorist group PKK holed up in Iraq.
The neighbours have, in recent years, been at loggerheads over Ankara’s cross-border military procedures against the PKK founded in northern Iraq’s mountainous region, which is owned by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraq has expressed the operations are a breach of its sovereignty, but Ankara says they are required to protect itself.
The Turkish sources conveyed that the text of the security pact shared by some media outlets was false and that the original pact hid cooperation in many fields, from training of troops and law enforcement, counterterrorism, joint border security, battle against irregular migration and infiltration through borders of two countries, combat against smuggling and organized crime, intelligence relations and defence.
Sources expressed the Joint Security Coordination Center would also be staffed by civilian personnel, and the two nations would hold further discussions on the number of staff and their work. As for the training and collaboration centre in Bashiqa, sources said it would deliver a platform for Türkiye and Iraq to exchange knowledge and information on security. “The memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries primarily aims to eliminate threats posed by terrorist or banned groups to sovereignty and the security of the two countries and regional security,” sources expressed.
The PKK has conducted a bloody terrorism movement against Türkiye since 1984, killing over 40,000 people. Labelled a terrorist association by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, the PKK has forts in northern Iraq from where it launches attacks into Türkiye. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein expressed at a joint press conference with his Turkish partner Hakan Fidan in Ankara earlier this month that the sight of PKK terrorists in northern Iraq poses “a danger to the Kurdistan area and other Iraqi cities” and poses a threat to Iraqi society.
“The Iraqi government has decided to add the PKK to the list of banned parties,” he said.
Since Turkish operations have moved its domestic sight to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large fragment of its operations to northern Iraq.
