ANKARA: Involving Shia militias in an operation to drive the militant Islamic State group out of the Iraqi city of Mosul will not bring peace, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Friday, adding that Turkish-trained forces should be involved.

As expectations of an assault to retake Mosul grow, tensions between Iraq and Turkey have escalated. The main point of contention is the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq, mainly at the Bashiqa camp in the north of the country, training Sunni Muslim and Kurdish Peshmerga units which Turkey wants to take part in the battle for Mosul.

However, the Shia-led government in Baghdad is keen that its forces be in the forefront of the offensive on the city, the largest under the IS control.

“The forces we have trained at the Bashiqa camp are Mosul’s own people. The participation of these forces is important to the operation’s success,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a news conference.

“Involving Shia militias in the operation will not bring peace to Mosul. On the contrary, it will increase problems,” he said, adding Turkey was ready to support the offensive.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim added to Turkey’s hardening rhetoric on the issue, saying Baghdad’s remarks on the Bashiqa camp were “dangerous and provocative”.

“Our troops are carrying out very useful work in Iraq. We have no hostile attitude towards them. Our soldiers are fighting against the IS militants there,” he told reporters.

Turkey’s parliament voted last week to extend the deployment of an estimated 2,000 troops across northern Iraq by a year to combat “terrorist organisations” — a wording broad enough to refer to Kurdish militants as well as the IS.

Iraq condemned the vote, and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey risked triggering a regional war. His government has requested an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the issue.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2016