ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 2 (UPI) — Turkey said it began deploying tanks and other armored vehicles to the Şırnak Province’s Silopi district, which is near the border with Syria and Iraq.
Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik on Tuesday said the decision to reinforce troops near the border was made taking into account Turkey’s conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, rebel group, as well as Iraq’s ongoing offensive to capture the city of Mosul away from Islamic State control.
“Turkey should be prepared for all eventualities,” Isik said in a statement. “There are important developments in our region. On the one hand there is a serious fight against terror within Turkey’s borders, and on the other there are important developments just across our border.”
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Violence tied to the PKK, which is fighting for more Kurdish autonomy in the region, has left more than 40,000 people dead since the 1980s.
The Turkish and Iraqi government have been at odds since December over Turkey’s deployment of troops to Iraq, which Turkey said is necessary to create a 3,000-square-mile safe zone along its borders but Iraq said is a violation because it was done without Baghdad’s permission or knowledge.
Iraq and the United States, which leads an international anti-Islamic State coalition, have warned Turkey not to become involved in the Mosul offensive. Iraqi officials have accused Turkey of attempting to take advantage of a power vacuum after the Islamic State is defeated in the city, while Turkey said its actions related to Iraq are only committed to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Turkmen population with historic and cultural ties to Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously warned that Iraq’s Shiite militias should not be involved in the Mosul offensive — warning that Mosul’s Turkmen population could be targeted. Erdogan has also given recent speeches in which he discusses Turkey’s historical claims to Mosul.
On Saturday, a group of Shiite militias, which have been largely absent from the Iraqi offensive to retake Mosul, joined the offensive by opening a new front on the west of the embattled IS stronghold.
“This action is to prepare in the face of all these developments. Turkey has to be prepared beforehand for all eventualities and this is part of those preparations,” Isik added.