Turkish parliament approves army push into Iraq

The Turkish parliament has voted overwhelming in favour of making military incursions into northern Iraq. The vote gives the country’s prime minister the legal basis he needs to carry out cross-border operations. Reccip Tayyip Erdogan is threatening the incursions to target Kurdish separatist militants after a spate of attacks.

The vote giving him the power to do that flies in the face of appeals for restraint from Iraq, NATO, the European Union and the US.

Those against the cross-border raids say they could destabalise a part of Iraq that has been the most peaceful since US-led forces invaded the country.

There are also worries that regional neighbours could become involved.

Erdogan has tried to play down reports of an imminent operation.

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