ISTANBUL (AP) – The Turkish parliament convened Saturday for an extraordinary session to renew a mandate to allow the military to intervene in Iraq and Syria, as officials continued to press Iraqi Kurdish leaders to call off an upcoming independence referendum.
The decree, renewed annually since 2014 and set to expire next month, allows Turkey to send troops over its southern border if developments in Iraq and Syria are perceived as national security threats.
The mandate, read in parliament Saturday, lists combating Kurdish militants operating in Syria and Iraq as well as the Islamic State group as national security requirements. It also emphasizes the importance of Iraq’s territorial integrity and says “separatism based on ethnicity” poses a threat to both Turkey and regional stability.
Turkish officials have repeatedly warned the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq to abandon plans for independence. Iraqi Kurds have scheduled such a vote for Monday.
Speaking in parliament, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli likened Monday’s referendum to a brick that – if pulled out – could collapse a “structure built on sensitive and fragile balances.” The resulting conflict could be global, he warned.