Iraqis demonstrate in Baghdad against Turkish military operations targeting the PKK

Iraqi security sources on Thursday reported the start of demonstrations in the capital in front of the Turkish embassy, according to Iraqi media. They have taken place in the context of the Turkish presence in Iraq.

Alsumiria News quoted a source as saying that "mass demonstrations were launched in front of the Turkish embassy in the capital Baghdad to protest the Turkish army's incursion into Iraqi lands".

They added that "security forces closed the roads surrounding the embassy's access roads in the Al-Waziriya area". They prevented the demonstrators from reaching the embassy. 

According to the same sources, the demonstrators raised banners denouncing the Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq. This followed Turkish security operations against the PKK in the mountains of northern Iraqi Kurdistan.

Operation Eren-8 Amanoslar has begun in the southern provinces of Osmaniye, Hatay and southeast of Gaziantep with 96 teams. 

This year, Turkey launched Operation Eren, named after Eren Bülbül, a 15-year-old killed by the PKK terrorist group on 11 August 2017. The new operation aims to eliminate the separatist terrorist group and cleanse the region of terrorists.

The country launched the first in a series of "Lightning" operations in July in the southeastern province of Sirnak. The associated operations are aimed at targeting terrorists believed to be hiding in eastern and southeastern Turkey.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) regularly conducts cross-border operations in a region where PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases from which attacks on Turkey are planned, in northern Iraq. In this area it launched the Claw-Tiger-Claw-Eagle operations in June to ensure the security of the Turkish people and borders, eliminating the threat from the PKK and other terrorist groups.

For its part, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) described the PKK's presence in Sinjar as unacceptable and urged the militants to leave the area.

The PKK leadership is reportedly struggling to recruit both militants and higher ranks. Many terrorists are also reluctant to enter Turkey from Iraq to carry out attacks because of the high number of casualties. 

Earlier this month, the Turkish government arrested 718 Kurds on Turkish territory in response to altercations between Ankara and the Kurdistan Traitors' Party (PKK).