Accusations against Erdogan of using chemicals against Kurds in northern Iraq

Turkish President Recep Tayyip has been facing accusations of using chemical weapons against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq in recent days. Erdogan.

Media close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) released videos this week they said showed the Turkish military using chemical weapons against the PKK in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, an international federation of medical organizations released a report this month calling for an independent investigation into potential violations of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. The International Union of Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which represents thousands of doctors and campaigns to prevent gun violence, said it had found circumstantial evidence of possible violations during its September mission to northern Iraq.

IPPNW had reported finding material in northern Iraq near an area where the Turkish army had withdrawn, which included containers of hydrochloric acid and chlorine, which can be used to make chlorine, a chemical weapon.
Containers for chemical weapons protection masks were also found at the same site, according to the same source, who said that this was not conclusive evidence of the use of chemical weapons, but that further independent investigation was needed.

Erdogan: “Lies and slander – those who accuse me will be held accountable”

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan strongly reacted to the accusations, saying that Turkey’s armed forces “never used chemical weapons” and that they “comply with international law”, while adding that legal action will be taken against those who made the relevant accusations.

“Our armed forces have never resorted to the use of chemical weapons until today,” Erdogan told reporters on the plane he was returning from a trip to Azerbaijan. “They will always say such slanders. We will call them to account as required under the law,” said the Turkish president, as reported by the NTV television network today.

According to the same source, Erdogan will also meet with Sweden’s prime minister to discuss the Nordic country’s NATO accession process and its extradition of PKK members wanted by Turkey, while pointing out that Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson is preparing with the fight against terrorism.

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling AKP party, called those accusing Turkey of using chemical weapons a “vulgar smear network.”

Yesterday, Thursday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense and top government officials had also categorically denied accusations of the use of chemical weapons by the Turkish armed forces in their operations against Kurdish rebels.

“Claims that the Turkish armed forces used chemical weapons are completely baseless and untrue,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“All these disinformation efforts are futile struggles of the terrorist organization and its allies,” he said, adding that ammunition prohibited by international law and international agreements are not used by the Turkish armed forces or included in their arsenal.

“The lie about chemical weapons is a futile attempt by those trying to wash away terrorism. Our fight against terrorism will continue with determination,” the presidential spokesman tweeted Ibrahim Kalin.

Also on Thursday, Turkish prosecutors opened an investigation into the head of the Turkish Medical Association, Sebnem Korur Fincanci, after she told television that video footage showed the use of toxic gas and also called for an independent investigation.

The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Fincanci was accused of “making propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “defaming the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey and its institutions.”

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