21 November 2015•Update: 22 November 2015
BAGHDAD
A leading Iraqi Turkmen figure has maintained that games are being played in Iraq's Turkmen region after the area was cleared of Daesh terrorists.
The Tuz Khormato district of Iraq’s north-central Saladin province has recently been the scene of clashes between Iraqi government’s Shia al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
"They are playing games on the Turkmen territory after Daesh and the biggest one [game] has started in Tuz Khormato," Ershad Salihi - leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front - told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
His remarks followed the meeting of Turkmen lawmakers with Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi in Baghdad.
"We discussed the developments on our territory after it was saved from Daesh, and the situation of Turkmen refugees in Kirkuk, Tal Afar, Tuz Khormato, Diyala and southern Iraq," he said.
Salihi stressed that meetings would be held with Kurdish and Arab politicians in the area to find a solution to the tension in the troubled district of Tuz Khormato.
"Some of the problems will be solved by political parties and some by the prime minister," he said.
Salihi previously called for a "joint administration" in Tuz Khormato -- to include Kurds, Turkmen, Shia and Sunni Arabs -- to avert more incidents in the future.
Turkmen lawmaker Muhammed Taki Mevla also said it was demanded that al-Abadi punish the perpetrators of the recent incidents in Tuz Khormato.
"We prefer a peaceful life with Kurds and Arabs. We do not want to create any problem for the [central] government or others. Likewise, we will never let Turkmen be deprived of their rights," he added.
