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UNITED NATIONS: The UN has rejected Iraq’s demand to launch a full investigation into the deadly July 20 artillery attack on a popular tourist spot in the mountainous governorate of Duhok in the Kurdistan region that left at least nine people dead. Members of the Security Council (UNSC) have expressed their support. People died and 23 were injured.

The support for the request comes days after the Security Council unanimously condemned the attack “in the strongest terms”.

However, council members did not mention Turkey in an emergency meeting called by Iraq and the United Arab Emirates to discuss the attack.

On the day of the attack, Baghdad summoned the Turkish ambassador to condemn what he described as “a heinous crime committed by Turkish troops crowned with its continued aggression against Iraq and its territories.”

Iraqi lawmakers also reportedly set up a committee to investigate the attack.

Ankara has denied any responsibility and considers the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) a terrorist organization. The PKK has been engaged in a long guerrilla war in southeastern Turkey.

Many who have taken refuge in the mountains where the borders of Iraq, Iraq, Iran and Turkey meet do not harbor PKK fighters or its leaders. Baghdad has repeatedly denied their presence on its territory.

In April, Turkey launched an offensive against the PKK called Operation Claw lockIn northern Iraq, the UN implements Article 51 of the Charter, which recognizes a state’s “inherent right to individual or collective self-defense” against attack, without first obtaining the consent of the Iraqi government.

As the fighting inside Turkey has lost its ferocity, the Turkish military continues to enter Iraq to attack PKK targets.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry described the July 20 attack as targeting “our country’s just and firm stance in the fight against terrorism.”

“Iraqi government officials should not issue statements under the influence of the rhetoric and propaganda of the treacherous terrorist organization, and cooperate to shed light on the real perpetrators of this tragedy,” he urged.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hossein said after the meeting Arabic News“We know who attacked. It seems clear to us.”

The members of the Security Council, “almost all of them, mentioned violations of international law, and they talked about aggression. I understand (that they didn’t mention Turkey) because we asked the inquiry. Of course, after the investigation is conducted and the results are released, the situation will be different”.

Hossein added that UNSC members “need more information, and I gave them that information during that meeting” while Iraq remains adamant that the Turkish military was responsible for the attack.

“These discussions will continue and we are ready to present more information so that (UNSC members) can make their own decisions and then the culprit will be clear,” he continued.

Iraq’s foreign minister told the United Nations Security Council that his country has “proof” that “this blatant aggression” was perpetrated by Ankara.

He called for an “international and independent commission of inquiry” to look into the attack, and expressed Iraq’s willingness to hold a joint investigation with Ankara. “

In his remarks to UNSC members, Hossein said Turkey’s continued violations of 22,000 Iraqi territory and airspace since 2018 should be included as an agenda item. and security.

Regular UNSC meetings should be aimed at withdrawing Turkish forces of more than 4,000 troops from Iraqi territory, Hossein added.

Onku Keceli, Turkey’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told the UNSC that Ankara was ready to take all necessary measures to “expose the truth.”

He accused Iraqi officials of being divided between those on the same wavelength as Turkey and those who “chose to escalate diplomacy”, launching a disinformation campaign hoping to drive a wedge between the Turkish and Iraqi people.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, UN Special Representative and Head of the Organization’s Assistance Mission to Iraq, provided a timeline of events following the attack. delivered to the Security Council, and highlighted the importance of ending all attacks on Iraqi territory.

“Such aggression not only irresponsibly escalates national and regional tensions, but also causes serious human suffering, as we have seen,” he said.

“As I have said many times in recent years, it rightly rejects the idea that Iraq can be considered an arena for external and regional contests – neighbors and other actors who will continue to violate and with complete impunity. , its sovereignty and its territorial integrity.”

This text is a translation of an article published on Arabnews.com