Kurdish politician warns of Turkish invasion of two Iraqi cities – What did he say?

In light of Turkey’s continued violations of Iraq’s sovereignty and blatant intrusion into its airspace and territory, Kurdish politician Muhammad Ameen Benjouni warned that Turkey was preparing to invade two Iraqi cities: Mosul, former ISIS stronghold, and Kirkuk.

Turkish newspaper Zaman quoted Benjouni as saying in radio statements: The latest Turkish military operation is in preparation for an all-out operation to regain control of Iraqi territory, which is expected to begin in 2023.

In a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and airspace, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on April 17 that Turkish warplanes, helicopters and mariners had bombed targets, camps, tunnels, shelters and ammunition depots allegedly belonging to Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, without any coordination with the Iraqi authorities. Akar noted that Turkish special forces had infiltrated Iraqi territory by land and participated in the operation, which Ankara called “Claw Lock”, targeting the areas of Metin Ozab and Afshin-Basyan in northern Iraq.

A close friend of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan for decades, Benjouni continued: “I think this operation is in preparation for the full-scale operation (possible) announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Minister of Defense and the Head of Intelligence, which is why they are planning a large-scale offensive to invade Kurdistan from Mosul to Kirkuk”.

Turkey has established a military force of Turkmen in Kirkuk to control it, Benjouni said, noting that Turkey is using the war on the PKK as a pretext to control oil wells and natural gas supplies in southern Kurdistan.

Benjouni also sees the military operation as aimed at pressuring the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which opposes attempts to export Kurdistan region oil to Europe through Turkey and controls nearly half of the gas, to reconsider its decisions.