Turkey to hand over military base to Iraq
Turkey to hand over military base to Iraq Turkey will hand over control of its Bashiqa base in northern Iraq to Baghdad, the Turkish presidency announced Wednesday in a joint statement with its neighbour. "In light of progress achieved by these security measures implemented by Iraq, Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan base to the Federal Government of Iraq in accordance…
Turkey has agreed to hand over control of its Bashiqa base, also referred to as the Baashiqa - Zeliqan camp or Zelikan camp, in northern Iraq to the Iraqi government. According to the Turkish presidency, this decision was made in a joint statement with Iraq, citing progress achieved by Iraqi security measures. The handover will be done gradually, following an agreed mechanism and timetable.
The announcement was made after a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who is also referred to as Ali al-Zaidi, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. The agreement is seen as a step towards restoring full Iraqi control, particularly in areas such as Sinjar.
The Bashiqa base was established during the fight against ISIS, which had invaded Iraq and led to the collapse of the Iraqi state in many parts, particularly in Sunni areas, the Nineveh Plains, and Sinjar. The base's transfer to Iraqi federal forces is part of efforts to consolidate federal control over these areas.
Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye, Jerusalem Post, Al-Monitor, Ajel English — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
