Turkey: strikes and incursions into Iraq, a fight without borders against the PKK
Since it was the target of an attack in Ankara on 1 October, Turkey has considerably intensified its bombing of Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan, raids that regularly target PKK positions, to which it attributes the recent attack in its capital.
Location of Penjwen, in Iraqi Kurdistan. © RFI
By: Anne Andlauer
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From our correspondent in Istanbul,
Turkey justifies its regular incursions and strikes against the autonomous region of Kurdistan by its fight against terrorism. In this case, against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, whose bases, command, "headquarters" so to speak, have long been established in the mountains of northern Iraq.
For the Turkish army, one-off strikes or large-scale military operations on Iraqi territory are not exceptional, they could even be described as "routine".
Read alsoTurkish airstrikes against the PKK in Iraq after an attack in Ankara
They are as old as the fight against the PKK, since the first operation of the Turkish armed forces in northern Iraq dates back to the 1980s. From now on, Ankara's objective is not only to eliminate the PKK from its main rear base, in the Qandil Mountains, but also to prevent the movement of PKK members between Qandil and their newer bases on the Iraqi-Syrian border, in the Sinjar Mountains.
These operations are carried out against the territory of a neighbouring and sovereign country. Turkey's argument – again a very old one – is that if Iraq is unwilling or unable to protect its borders and eliminate PKK fighters who use its territory to attack Turkey, or if Iraq does not wish to conduct joint operations with Turkey against the PKK, then the Turkish army will do it alone. In practice, these operations are carried out with the tacit agreement of the authorities of the autonomous Kurdistan Region, with which Turkey has good relations.
As for the Iraqi central government, it regularly condemns Turkish incursions in form. The presence of some forty Turkish military bases has also given rise to strong bilateral tensions in the past. But in practice, Baghdad seems powerless to counter its Turkish neighbour, which has also increased its diplomatic efforts in recent years in order to maintain, once again, a form of tacit agreement. During recent operations, the Turkish authorities have assured that they have informed and obtained the support of the Iraqi central authorities in advance, which the latter have denied.
Read alsoKurdistan targeted by Turkish bombing
Since 2019, however, the Turkish army seems to be intensifying its operations and advancing deeper and deeper into the Iraqi Kurdish region. In addition, Turkish intelligence regularly conducts what they call "targeted" operations and strikes against PKK cadres in northern Iraq. Moreover, thanks to the development of its defence industry, Turkey is increasingly using its armed drones to attack the PKK in Iraq. The other important point is that the intensification of operations in northern Iraq goes hand in hand with what the authorities in Ankara present as their "new strategy" to fight terrorism, i.e. to strike the enemies "at the source", to eliminate the threats identified outside the territory before they have time to strike in Turkey itself.
All this testifies to Ankara's desire to establish a lasting presence in these border regions, in order to establish a kind of "buffer zone" in northern Iraq.
Read alsoTurkey: PKK claims responsibility for suicide bombing in Ankara
The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone is pictured on December 16, 2019 at the Gecitkale military airbase near Famagusta in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). AFP - BIROL BEBEK
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