Iraq requests urgent meeting of UNSC on Duhok's resort bombardment

BAGHDAD: Iraq on Saturday requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council after a suspected Turkish bombardment on a resort in Iraq's northern province of Duhok. "The ministry submitted a complaint to the Security Council and requested an urgent meeting to discuss the Turkish attack, which resulted in the killing and wounding of many civilians, in Duhok Province," said Iraqi Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf said in a statement.

A suspected Turkish bombardment hit a Duhok resort in Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan on Wednesday which killed nine civilians dead and injured several others. The Iraqi government accuses the Turkish forces of carrying out the attack, a charge Ankara has denied, Xinhua reported.

Also on Saturday, the Iraqi parliament held an urgent session, with the presence of Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Defense Minister Juma Inad and some top military commanders, to discuss the bombardment on the Iraqi territories. Hussein said during the session that diplomacy should be used to resolve the conflict and that military escalation with Turkiye avoided, Xinhua reported citing a source in the parliament.

He demanded the issues of the presence of the Turkish military forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) inside Iraqi territory be addressed, added the source who wished to remain anonymous. On Thursday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry handed a sternly worded protest note to Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Ali Reza Guney over the deadly resort bombardment in Duhok, demanding the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraqi territory.

Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments in Iraq's Kurdistan, especially the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the PKK, Xinhua reported. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades.