Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country opposes any presence of the Iraqi Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia in the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, Rudaw reports.
“Tal Afar is a very sensitive issue for us. We definitely do not regard it [Hashd involvement] positively in Tal Afar and Sinjar. I already told this to officials clearly,” Erdogan said on Saturday according to Anadolu news.
“Tal Afar is a totally Turkmen city, with half Shia and half Sunni Muslims. We do not judge people by their religious affiliation, we regard them as Muslims,” he added, “But if Hashd al-Shaabi terrorizes the region, our response would be different.”
Erdogan was speaking shortly after the Hashd began their operation against Tal Afar, which sits between Mosul and the Syrian border.
