Problems of the Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq

Muhammad Karim Al-Khakani. Academic and researcher in political affairs.

Since December 3, 2015, the Turkish military forces have entered a depth of (110) km in Iraqi territory without obtaining the approval of the Iraqi government under the pretext of chasing the PKK members. The number of these forces is estimated at hundreds of soldiers, armored cars, tanks and artillery, and their number has even reached 2,000. A Turkish soldier until October 11, 2016 (1), and this means that Turkey has moved to a very advanced stage in managing its military battles from the use of proxies to the stage of direct military intervention for the first time inside the territory of another country, and with the exception of the Cypriot case, the Turkish forces were not It carried out military operations outside the borders except in specific and temporary circumstances, as it used to do in pursuing the elements of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party that is present in Iraq and over land distances that may reach a depth of (50) km, but it was returning to its bases that it occupies inside Turkish territory, and for the first time Turkey used its army in Military operations outside its borders, not with the intention of the return of these forces after carrying out limited tasks for them, but rather to reside abroad continuously and without specifying a timetable for their operations, and this is what actually happened when the Turkish forces entered in 2015 to the Bashiqa area in northwest Mosul and set up a camp for it And it refused to leave despite the Iraqi government’s demand for it (2), and the Turkish presence is not limited to chasing the PKK members, but is actually present in Iraqi territory in the form of military bases (3).

There are several problems raised by the intervention of the Turkish military forces in northern Iraq, some of which consider this military action in accordance with the principles of international law as an intervention, and the other considers the Turkish military intervention as a threat to international peace and security.

With regard to the official Iraqi position on the intervention of Turkish forces in its territory, this can be referred to at the request of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who demanded the immediate withdrawal of those forces from Iraqi territory and considered their incursion a serious violation of Iraqi sovereignty (4), considering that the Iraqi government did not request the intervention of Turkish forces Absolutely, which contradicts the sovereignty of the country (5), and a statement of the Council of Ministers headed by Mr. Haider al-Abadi summarized the official Iraqi position, in which it stated, “National sovereignty and the country’s geographical borders are a red line that cannot be violated or crossed at all, especially since the Iraqi government did not sign an agreement.” Or to allow neighboring Turkey to cross the borders of our country under any pretext.” This is evidence that no agreement was signed between the two countries, which refutes the Turkish allegations of signing an agreement with the government of Mr. Nuri al-Maliki to allow Turkey to enter its military forces (6), and Iraq submitted an official complaint to the Security Council against The Turkish military incursion through its permanent mission to the United Nations on December 14, 2015, asking the Council for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish forces and for the Council to ensure, by all means available to it, the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of forces to the internationally recognized borders between the two countries, and for the Security Council to order Turkey not to repeat Violating Iraqi sovereignty because it constitutes a threat to international and regional peace (7), and the Security Council held a meeting on December 18, 2015 to consider the Iraqi complaint (8).

There are many legal paths that Iraq can follow in the face of these Turkish military interventions, as international law guarantees states the right to sovereignty over their territory, and the United Nations Charter requires states to adhere to principles governing relations between them, which are certainly binding principles, and among the most prominent of these principles The principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states, as well as the principle of respect for regional sovereignty (9). The intervention of the Turkish forces constitutes a serious violation of the sovereignty of Iraq and the principles of good neighborliness and mutual respect between countries and non-interference in their internal affairs in accordance with the United Nations Charter. The sovereignty of other countries, and Turkey cannot claim that it has signed an agreement with the former regime, because it did not renew that agreement and a copy of it was not deposited with the United Nations according to Article 102 of the Charter (10), as these Turkish military interventions in northern Iraq It is not supported by the security cooperation agreement between the two countries, which has been applied since 1984 and was called the Hot Pursuit Agreement, for the purpose of combating terrorism in the common border areas. kilometers and for a period of time not exceeding three days (11).

The intervention of the Turkish military forces in Iraq took place without the official approval of the Iraqi government and without an invitation from it, so it considers the presence of those forces illegal and constitutes a violation of Iraqi territorial sovereignty and international law. The principle of non-interference is one of the traditional principles that are firmly established in international law, and it arose from the idea of sovereignty, which resulted in preventing any country from interfering in the internal affairs of another country because its interference in the affairs of others is a violation of its sovereignty and endangers the international system. International law from the principle of non-interference is an absolute principle, except in the case of the state being in a legitimate defense, and this is what was adopted by the International Law Commission of the United Nations in its draft on the rights and duties of states of 1947, in the text of Article 3: “Any interference in the internal and external affairs of another state must be refrained from.” (12).

The concept of interference in international law has a special meaning. States, according to Abobheim, use this concept inaccurately to describe some issues, such as criticizing the actions of a country, while interference in international law means interference by force or coercion in another way by a country in the affairs of a country. Others, its purpose is to impose a specific behavior on its part or to obtain results from it (13), and from here it cannot rely on what was stated in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, which allows states the right to use force to combat terrorism and the right of legitimate defense to secure borders (14), In this regard, Turkey relies on what the terrorist organization ISIS and elements of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) may pose greater threats to the safety and security of Turkey from areas that the Iraqi government cannot reach and therefore has the right to defend itself according to Article 51, and in this case that is, the Turkish military intervention, In order to exercise the right of self-defense, there must first be an armed attack against the aggressor country, and this military intervention was not a response to an attack launched by Iraqi forces against Turkish territory or its military forces, and it was not a threat by Iraq to use military force, and Turkey did not inform the Council Security is the occurrence of an attack or threat of attack on Turkey by Iraq, and therefore the Turkish allegations in this regard cannot be relied upon (15), and Turkey has not provided any evidence proving that it is exposed to threats from terrorist organizations in Iraqi territory, because Article 51 does not allow the use of force to protect perceived security interests outside The scope of the borders (16), and as usual, the Turkish government was not interested in Iraq’s continuous protests against these military interventions because it is considered a blatant interference in Iraq’s internal affairs, and a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sanctity and territorial integrity, in addition to it contradicting good neighborly relations and the Iraqi-Turkish border treaty of 1926 ( 17), that the incursion of the Turkish military forces into Iraq in order to gain international legitimacy must be done with the approval of the Iraqi government, and therefore the Turkish position is illegal because there is no legal framework or justification that gives legitimacy to the presence of those military forces in Iraq (18), and despite the protests The official Iraqi government insisted on the Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq. The Turks continued to ignore all the peaceful calls made by Iraqi officials. Rather, the matter reached the point of establishing a port for the crossing of their military forces without informing the Iraqi government, which is the Sarzir port, and established a temporary base to manage military operations from there (19 ). Accordingly, we see that the Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq is a violation of international law and regional sovereignty and constitutes a direct threat to international peace and security, and Turkey cannot rely on what was stated in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, as there was no military attack or threat to Turkish territory or its military forces located in Iraq.

Margins:

1_ Sami Shubar, Turkish military forces incursion into Iraqi territory, The Position in International Law, Journal of Political and Strategic Studies, House of Wisdom, Baghdad, Issue 34, 2017, p. 17.

2_ Muhammad Noureddine, Turkey between internal transformations and external intersections, Arab Future Journal, Center for Arab Unity Studies, Beirut, Issue 456, 2017, pp. 29_30.

3_ Muhammad Karim al-Khaqani, Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq, available at the following electronic link:

https://www.bayancenter.org/2020/06/6160/

4_ Sami Shubar, a previously mentioned source, p. 17.

5_ The hidden reasons behind the Turkish army’s incursion into northern Iraq, available on the following electronic link:

https://www.tasnimnews.com/ar/news/2016/10/10/1209494

6_ Khaled Ali Abboud, Turkish Intervention.. and the plurality of interests at the expense of Iraq, available on the following electronic link:

https://annabaa.org/arabic/authorsarticles/4531

7_https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/document/s2015963.php

8_ Sami Shubar, a previously mentioned source, p. 17.

9_ Amjad Arar, Turkey's Interventions... Violation of National Sovereignty and Violation of International Law, available at the following electronic link:

https://www.albayan.ae/one-world/overseas/2019-02-11-1.3484450

10_ For more, see: https://www.almaalomah.com/2020/06/20/480802/

11_ Rehab Al-Ziyadi, What is happening in northern Iraq, available at the following electronic link:

https://marsad.ecsstudies.com/33077/

12_ Adel Hamza Al-Bazuni, The Concept of Human Interference in International Relations_ A Legal View, Journal of Political Studies, House of Wisdom, Baghdad, Issue 29, 2014, p. 16.

13_ Sami Shubar, a previously mentioned source, p. 23.

14_ Shaima Marouf Farhan, Turkey’s options towards Iraq after the liberation of Mosul, Al-Mustansiriya Journal of Arab and International Studies, Al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Issue 57, 2017, p. 14.

15_ Sami Shubar, a previously mentioned source, p. 36.

16_ The same source, p. 37.

17_ Ibrahim Khalil Al-Allaf, Turkish foreign political behavior towards Iraq after April 9, 2003, Regional Studies Journal, Center for Regional Studies, University of Mosul, Issue 5, 2006, p. 6.

18_ Adel Abdel-Hamza Thajeel and Elaf Rajeh, Motives and objectives of the Turkish incursion and its impact on the options of Iraqi-Turkish relations, Journal of Political Issues, Al-Nahrain University, Issues 43 and 44, 2016, p. 250.

19_ Muhammad Karim Al-Khaqani, Turkish Military Intervention in Northern Iraq, Al-Bayan Center for Studies and Planning, available at the following electronic link:

   https://www.bayancenter.org/2020/06/61600