No: 208, 24 June 2014

We have learned with great sadness that Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Executive Board member Munir Kafili has lost his life following an armed attack today (24 June) near his home in Kirkuk. We strongly condemn this terrorist attack. We wish God’s mercy upon him, patience and fortitude to his family and relatives. Minister Davutoğlu telephoned President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front Erşad Salihi to offer his condolences.

Ali Haşim Muhtaroğlu, Vice President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) and Ahmet Koca, Deputy Governor of Saladin, along with some others of our Turkmen brethren, had been assassinated exactly one year ago in a suicide attack that took place in Tuz Khormato.

We observe that the security situation in Iraq has been worsening in recent years; that it has become particularly critical after the attack against Mosul on June 6 and that violence has been affecting all the segments that make up the Iraqi population. However, it is noteworthy that besides many of our Turkmen brethren, prominent members of that community have been expressly targeted and that the perpetrators have yet to be arrested. Moreover, we have been anxiously witnessing that many of our brethren have been obliged to migrate as a result of the clashes that have recently erupted in Iraq.

Turkey is ready to do its part to ensure the establishment of peace and stability in Iraq, as well as the tranquility and prosperity of all the sections of the population, including the Turkmen community.

We are expecting that Iraqi authorities, including those of the regions where our brethren reside, start making serious efforts to ensure the security of our Turkmen brothers and sisters – who have no other aim than living in peace within Iraq and who are a constituent element of Iraq and its loyal citizens – as well as their political representatives and that they swiftly arrest the murderers and bring them before justice.