عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraq Summons Turkish Ambassador over Refugee Camp Strike

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter on the outskirts of Makhmour, near Erbil in northern Iraq. (AP file photo)
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter on the outskirts of Makhmour, near Erbil in northern Iraq. (AP file photo)
TT
TT

Iraq Summons Turkish Ambassador over Refugee Camp Strike

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter on the outskirts of Makhmour, near Erbil in northern Iraq. (AP file photo)
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter on the outskirts of Makhmour, near Erbil in northern Iraq. (AP file photo)

Iraq summoned on Friday Ankara’s ambassador to Baghdad, Fatih Yildiz, after a Turkish drone strike against a refugee camp east of Mosul.

The strikes on the Makhmour refugee camp in northern Iraq were carried out by a Turkish military drone that was detected by Iraq’s air defense, a statement from the foreign ministry said. Two refugee women were killed.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim stressed to Yildiz “the need to stop such serious violations and respect the principles of good neighbourliness,” according to a statement.

Yildiz was handed a letter of complaint, with the ministry expressing “condemnation in the strongest possible terms over these Turkish attacks”, saying they “constituted a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

The Turkish government claims the refugee camp is a hotbed of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK, an outlawed group in Turkey that is fighting an insurgency against Ankara.

Turkey has repeatedly struck PKK positions in northern Iraq in efforts to cut the group’s supply routes.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
TT
TT

EU’s Kallas Says She Hopes for Political Agreement on Easing Syria Sanctions

In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on January 12, 2025, a vendor waits for customers at her mobile shop in the Damascus Tower market, which specializes in the smart phone business, in the Syrian capital. (AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she hopes a political agreement on easing Syria sanctions can be reached at a gathering of European ministers next week.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Syria during a meeting in Brussels on Jan. 27.

European officials began rethinking their approach towards Syria after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president by opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which the United Nations designates as a terrorist group.

Some European capitals want to move quickly to suspend economic sanctions in a signal of support for the transition in Damascus. Others have sought to ensure that even if some sanctions are eased, Brussels retains leverage in its relationship with the new Syrian authorities.

“We are ready to do step-for-step approach and also to discuss what is the fallback position,” Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

“If we see that the developments are going in the wrong direction, then we are also willing to put them back,” she added.

Six EU member states called this month for the bloc to temporarily suspend sanctions on Syria in areas such as transport, energy and banking.

Current EU sanctions include a ban on Syrian oil imports and a freeze on any Syrian central bank assets in Europe.