Iraq summons Turkish ambassador after attack on refugee camp

The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Muhammad Al-Hakim, summoned the Turkish Ambassador to Iraq on Thursday afternoon, following an attack on a refugee camp in the Makhmur region of the country.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack carried out by the Turkish side, which resulted in loss of life and property,” the ministry spokesman, Ahmed al-Sahaf, said in a statement.

The spokesman said, “The Foreign Minister directly summoned the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad and delivered a memorandum of protest.”

The ministry called for an end to the bombing of Iraqi areas, respect for sovereignty, and cooperation to ensure border security, as these repeated attacks by the Turkish side will not contribute to ensuring Turkey’s security, and do not serve the interests of security and stability in the region.

The joint operations command in Iraq, earlier today, accused Turkish aircraft of violating their airspace and bombing a refugee camp near the city of Makhmur.

“We deplore the violation of Iraqi airspace by Turkish planes that took place yesterday morning, and targeted a refugee camp near Makhmur,” adding that “this provocative behavior is not consistent with the obligations of good-neighborliness in accordance with international agreements and is a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”

The Iraqi Media Cell announced on Wednesday that a Turkish drone violated the airspace and launched an attack on the refugee camp, in which two women were killed.