Recently, Turkey has sent troops into Iraq. This article mentions some recent developments:
“We have confirmation that Turkish forces, numbering about one armoured regiment with a number of tanks and artillery, entered Iraqi territory ... allegedly to train Iraqi groups, without a request or authorisation from Iraqi federal authorities
what piece of international law gave Turkey the right to send these troops into Iraq?
UN Charter: Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.
UN recognizes the right of independent states to use military force for the purpose of self defense, and does not impose limitations on the use of force for self defense, even for members of UN.
UN Definition of Aggression: http://www.un-documents.net/a29r3314.htm
Article 1:
Aggression is the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations, as set out in this Definition.
Article 3:
Any of the following acts, regardless of a declaration of war, shall, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of article 2, qualify as an act of aggression:
(a) The invasion or attack by the armed forces of a State of the territory of another State, or any military occupation, however temporary, resulting from such invasion or attack, or any annexation by the use of force of the territory of another State or part thereof,
As such, Turkey has committed an act of aggression and Iraq may individually, or collectively with allies, use military force for the purpose of self defense.
The reason of training Kurds to fight terrorism or any other reason for that matter, does not negate the act of aggression (i.e. the cause does not justify the means). Furthermore, Turkey is actively fighting against Kurds anywhere they can find them (genocide?) so it is highly unlikely, that Turkey is providing any form of aid to Kurdish fighters.
Turkey has no right to send his troops to Iraq without the consent of the Iraqi government. Its a form of invasion which should be strongly condemned by the UN.
And as Iraq sees it as such, they have set their air force on high alert to be ready to react on any further advancement of Turkish military. The commander of the voluntary forces in Iraq stated that they will attack Turkish soldiers if they do not withdraw.
After the Iraqi PM has demanded the withdrawal of the Turkish troops, which are not only personell but heavy weapons as well, Turkey stated that they have sent them to train Kurdish fighters and support Turkish troops being already for some time in Iraq.
If this is the case, why did they not inform Baghdad beforehand?
Here is what the guardian writes today:
Political analysts saw last week’s deployment by Turkey, which has the second biggest army in Nato, as an attempt to assert its influence in the face of increased Russian and Iranian involvement in Syria and Iraq.
“Turkey seems to be angling to prove to the Russians and Iranians that they will not be allowed to have either the Syrian or Iraqi war theatres only to themselves,” said Aydın Selcen, a former consul general of Turkey in Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
Here is what rt writes:
The Turkish intrusion into Iraq comes shortly after Ankara’s motives in the war on Islamic State have been questioned by Moscow, Tehran, as well as by Baghdad.
the Iraqis are convinced that Turkey is involved in smuggling oil
While officially Baghdad is now considering whether there is enough evidence of Turkey’s involvement in oil trade with IS to file a formal protest at the UN Security Council, an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman, Naseer Nuri, told Sputnik on Wednesday that “general information about the smuggling of Iraqi oil by trucks to certain countries, including Turkey” is already available to them, and “this oil is used to fund Daesh.”
Other Iraqi officials have openly accused Turkey of knowingly trading with the terrorists.
There is “no shadow of a doubt” that Ankara knows about the oil smuggling operations, Iraqi MP and former national security adviser Mowaffak al Rubaie told RT.
