Oct 11, 2016

Hopes of defusing the escalating crisis between Turkey and Iraq ahead of a critical battle to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) were all but shattered after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to “know his place.”

“Iraq had certain requests from us regarding Bashiqa, and now they are telling us to leave, but the Turkish army has not lost so much prestige as to take its orders from you,” he roared. Erdogan was referring to the Bashiqa camp, north of Mosul, where Turkish troops are training several thousand Sunni militia fighters loyal to Atheel al-Nujaifi, former governor of Ninevah province.

The spiraling dispute between the key allies in the US-led coalition against IS erupted last December, when Turkey deployed several hundred members of its special forces, together with 20-odd tanks to Bashiqa, sparking calls from Baghdad for the immediate withdrawal of Turkey’s “occupying force.” Washington has since been furiously mediating between the sides amid worries that the row could derail the battle for Mosul, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Turkey insists that Baghdad was fully informed of its presence in Bashiqa. The Iraqi Kurds have backed Ankara’s version of events, saying that Turkish troops were in Ninevah to train Sunni volunteer forces with the “knowledge” and “consent” of Baghdad.

Turkish media outlets reported Erdogan’s criticism of Abadi, made during a meeting of Islamic leaders in Istanbul Oct. 11. “You are not my interlocutor, you are not at my level, your quality is not at my level,” Erdogan said in the remarks aimed at Abadi. The president went on to say that the Iraqi premier’s “clamoring from Iraq” is not important, warning him to “know your limits.”