Turkey in show of force on Iraqi border
Troops and tanks roll in ahead of controversial referendum on Kurdish independence
Turkey is flexing its military muscle on the northern Iraqi border in a show of force against next week’s planned vote on Kurdish independence.
Tanks and troops have amassed on the frontier, training rocket launchers towards Iraqi Kurdistan. No prior warning was given and it’s unclear how long the military operation will last.
The drill “reflects the scale of concern in Turkey, which has the largest Kurdish population in the region, that the plebiscite could embolden the outlawed Kurdish PKK which has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey’s southeast,” says Reuters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Turkish defence minister Nurettin Canikli warned that next Monday’s referendum could lead to regional conflict and vowed Turkey would take “every step” needed to stop a similar movement north of the border.
His comments were echoed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a speech at the UN General Assembly yesterday.
“New crises in the region, such as bids for independence, could spark new conflicts and must therefore be avoided at all costs,” he said. “We urge Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government to abort the steps they have taken in that direction.”
Iraqi Kurdistan has effectively been a semi-autonomous state, with its own president, prime minister and parliament, since the fall of Saddam Hussein more than a decade ago, but many Kurds believe secession from Iraq is the only way to ensure that their rights will be fully protected.
The central government in Baghdad is fiercely opposed to the vote, as is the region’s non-Kurdish population.
Western powers, meanwhile, have voiced concern that the referendum and any ensuing violence will distract Iraqi and Kurdish forces from the ongoing battle against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
But Kurdish authorities remain defiant and show “no sign” of bowing to international demands and halting the vote, says The Guardian.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The best homes of the year
Feature Featuring a grand turret entrance in New York and built-in glass elevator in Arizona
By The Week Staff Published
-
Nordstrom family, investor to take retail chain private
Speed Read The business will be acquired by members of the family and El Puerto de Liverpool, a Mexican real estate company
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden commutes most federal death sentences
Speed Read The president downgraded the punishment of 37 of 40 prisoners on death row to life in prison without parole
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
-
The nuclear threat: is Vladimir Putin bluffing?
Talking Point Kremlin's newest ballistic missile has some worried for Nato nations
By The Week UK Published
-
Russia vows retaliation for Ukrainian missile strikes
Speed Read Ukraine's forces have been using U.S.-supplied, long-range ATCMS missiles to hit Russia
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published