Referring to the escalation of Turkish army threats to attack Shingal, Salar Mahmoud told VOA Kurdish Service that Turkey intends to send troops to the city by taking advantage of the current situation in Iraq and the dispute between Erbil and Baghdad.

The former official called the possible move in violation of the international law and a violation of Iraq sovereignty and its borders.

Noting that the situation in Shingal is unstable due to the presence of numerous military forces and its inhabitants are still displaced, he said that Turkey is trying to control the border areas between Syrian Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Region by attacking Shingal.

Mr. Mahmoud stressed that the strategic and political importance of Shingal, which overlooks the plain of Nineveh, is the main reason behind Turkey attempt to attack it.

The former representative of the PUK in the Kurdistan Parliament added that the position of the Kurdistan Regional Government against the Turkish military movements and attacks has been weak and it is necessary to take a clear and firm position against it through an agreement with the Iraqi central government over a joint control of Shingal by both Erbil and Baghdad.

Salar Mahmoud warns that if the region does not rush to reach an agreement with Baghdad and confront Turkey, it will face many problems because Turkey is trying to persuade the Iraqi government to send Iraqi forces to the region and even though it has signed a 50-year agreement with the Kurdistan Region, it is attempting to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government to drag Iraq into a war against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Reporter's code: 50101