The ambassadors were convened late afternoon New York time to discuss the July 20 attack in Zahko, a city in the Kurdistan region near the border with Türkiye, in an area where Turkish forces Turkey is conducting counter-terrorism operations against outlaw militant groups.
Hennis-Plasschaert gave a timeline of developments since five shells hit the Parkha resort, which is crowded with tourists, including children. 9 people were killed and 33 were injured.
Precautionary measures are ignored
Iraq attributed the attack to Turkish forces, but Ankara issued a press release saying that it is “resisting all types of attacks against civilians” and is “ready to take every step to reveal the truth,” she reported.
“This horrific attack on a well-known and well-defined tourist site demonstrates an astonishing disregard for civilian life and for the generally accepted standards of human rights law.” international ethics and human rights to protect civilians,” speak Mrs. Hennis-Plasschaert.
“While all parties to any conflict must take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians, this has clearly not been observed.”
The UN special envoy said she spoke with the Iraqi Prime Minister on Monday, who again stressed the importance of conducting a transparent and thorough investigation into the incident, whether independent. established or common.
“It is important to put an end to speculation, denials, misunderstandings and rising tensions,” she told the ambassadors. “Meanwhile, I understand that Türkiye is also ready to solve the problem together with Iraq, to determine exactly what happened.”
Attacks must stop
Hennis-Plasschaert stressed that the most important thing is that all attacks on Iraqi territory stop.
“Such aggressive actions not only recklessly increase national and regional tensions, but also cause serious human tragedies,” she said.
“As I have said many times over the years, Iraq rightfully rejects the notion that it can be viewed as an arena for external and regional adversaries – as an arena where neighboring countries neighbors and any other actor for that matter, regularly and with impunity, infringes upon its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Iraq: Attacks Against Sovereignty
The country’s foreign minister, Fouad Hussein, told the council that Iraq strongly condemned the attack.
“This is an act of military aggression against the sovereignty and security and territorial integrity of Iraq, and is a violation and threat to the peace and security of the region,” he said in Arabic. regional and international.
Hussein urged the ambassadors to adopt a resolution calling on Türkiye to withdraw its forces from all of Iraq.
The act of aggression must also be strongly condemned and the perpetrators held accountable, he added, while an independent international investigation should be established to look into the incident.
The Foreign Minister also called for the situation between Iraq and Türkiye to be included Security Councilagenda of the Turkish government and for the Turkish government to compensate for the damage caused after the invasion.
Türkiye: Terrorists violate sovereignty
Öncü Keçeli, Deputy Permanent Representative of Türkiye, said his country contacted the Iraqi authorities and the Kurdistan regional government shortly after the attack.
“We have made it clear that Türkiye is ready to take all steps to reveal the truth,” he said.
“So we believe this meeting is crucial to setting the record – not only with the members of the Council, but also with our brothers and sisters in Iraq.”
Mr. Keçeli said Türkiye has always maintained strong support for Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, stability and prosperity, adding that any statement to the contrary is untrue. and without purpose.
“Let us make it very clear. Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are violated by terrorist organizations, not by Turkiye”.
