Iraq demands withdrawal of Iranian troops

[lkdood]

The Iraqi government demanded the immediate withdrawal on Friday of Iranian troops who have taken control of a disputed oilfield in southern Iraq.

"Iraq demands the immediate withdrawal from well No. 4 and the Fakka oilfield, which belongs to Iraq. Iraq is looking for a peaceful and diplomatic settlement to this issue," said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

Iraq's deputy interior minister said earlier that 11 Iranian soldiers had crossed the Iran-Iraq border on Friday afternoon, the latest in a series of recent incursions, and taken position at an oil well in the remote desert border area. Iran denied the incursion into Iraqi territory.


Reuters

 

[lkdood]

Iraqi troops massed Saturday near an oil well on the border in a standoff with Iranian forces that seized control of the site in a sudden flare up of tension between the two uneasy neighbors.

The top U.S. diplomat in Iraq said Baghdad's speedy response to the border incursion showed that Iraq is "not going to be pushed around" by Iran.

The Iraqi troops and border guards were waiting for further orders at a staging ground about a kilometer from oil well No. 4 at the al-Fakkah oil field, said an Interior Ministry official at the site who was not authorized to talk to the media.

The Iranian military, meanwhile, denied they had violated Iraq's sovereignty since the oil well was part of Iranian territory according to a 1975 border agreement, in a statement carried by the Arabic language Iranian news station al-Alam.

The field is located about 200 miles (about 320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad.

AP

 

[amila_90210]

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[fazil00789]

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