ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that northern Iraq’s Makhmour camp, where Turkish air strikes killed at least three people at the weekend, must be cleared of Kurdish militants.
President Tayyip Erdogan has said that Makhmour, a camp 180 km south of the Turkish border which has hosted thousands of Turkish refugees for more than two decades, was an “incubator” for militants and must be tackled. On Sunday, Erdogan said the strikes on Makhmour had killed a senior Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) official.
Speaking at an interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber, Cavusoglu said clearing the region of militants was the Iraqi government’s responsibility, but that Turkey would do it alone if it has to, adding Ankara was in talks with Iraqi officials over the matter.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay)
