Gul: Turkish Army Does Not Need to Enter Northern Iraq

Speaking at a Turkish Electricity, Water and Gas Workers Union (Tes-Is) meeting yesterday, Gul responded to a question regarding the looting currently going on in the northern Iraqi cities of Kirkuk and Mosul. "Looting is everywhere. The important thing for us is that there should be no genocide or civil war. This is the thing to which we are most paying attention, and this is being watched very closely. As you know, our observers are working in coordination with the U.S. Army. Therefore, developments are reported to us immediately. We have made preparations. We hope that nothing will be necessary. There is no need for the Turkish Army’s entry into northern Iraq," he said.

When asked if the peshmerga fighters had withdrawn, Gul said: "Those who came from outside have left. The people you see in the region are residents of the area. There is a mixed population — Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens live in a very mixed way in that area. Not everybody whom you see there has come from outside. Those who came from outside have left Kirkuk."