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Iraq Summons Turkish Envoy over Erdogan’s Criticism of Popular Mobilization Forces | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a rally of supporters in Ankara, Turkey on April 17, 2017. (AP)


Baghdad – Baghdad submitted on Thursday a formal complaint to Ankara over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s criticism of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which he described as a “terrorist group.”

Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Jamal said in a statement that the ministry summoned Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad Fatih Yildiz and “handed him an official complaint over the recent statements by the Turkish president against the PMF.”

Erdogan had said during an interview with Qatar’s al-Jazeera television that Iran is adopting a “Persian expansionist policy that is starting to hurt us.”

“What are the PMF? Who supports them? The Iraqi parliament backs these units, but frankly, it is a terrorist organization and we should see who is backing it,” he stressed.

“The PMF operates in Mount Sinjar and against Tal Afar. There are around 400,000 Turkmen in Tal Afar, some of whom are Shi’ite and others are Sunni. The population has been dispersed and the same thing is happening in the Iraqi capital,” he noted.

Nineveh MP Haneen al-Qaddo condemned the Turkish president’s statements, saying: “We cannot remain silent over them.”

“Erdogan’s hostile policies are still ongoing and he will pay their price sooner or later,” he declared.