Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hit back on Tuesday against dismissive comments by Turkey's president, mocking his appeal to the nation via video call during a failed coup attempt.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Abadi earlier in the day to "know your place," and said that he is "not on my level" -- another escalation in the war of words between the two sides over Ankara's deployment of troops in Iraq's north.
"We will liberate our land through the determination of our men and not by video calls," Abadi's official Twitter account said.
Erdogan made a desperate appeal via video calling application FaceTime for citizens to resist a July attempt to overthrow the government, rallying resistance that helped to thwart the coup.
Abadi's spokesman Saad al-Hadithi told AFP that Erdogan, with his latest remarks, was "pouring oil on the fire," adding that Turkey's responses had made an issue of law and security into a "problem of a personal nature".
"It seems that Turkey is not serious about solving the problem with Iraq," Hadithi said.
Abadi has repeatedly called on Turkey to withdraw troops deployed near the northern city of Mosul, and said that they will not play a role in the operation to retake it from the Islamic State jihadist group.
Turkey has ignored these requests and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said last week that the country's forces would stay "no matter what the Iraqi government in Baghdad says."
The dispute has now lasted for almost a year, and was reignited by the Turkish parliament's decision to extend a government mandate, thereby allowing Turkish troops to remain in Iraq.
Turkey has had forces deployed in northern Iraq since the 1990s in areas that are part of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, which also currently controls the area near Mosul where the Turkish troops are deployed.
Kurdish security forces are in practice not under Abadi's command, meaning that appealing for their withdrawal and pushing for allies to help is his main recourse at the moment.
Iraq has called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the dispute, which threatens to complicate plans to recapture Mosul from IS.
Iraqi forces are currently preparing for the operation to seize the city from IS, which overran it and other areas in 2014 but has since lost significant ground in the country.
US tries to defuse Iraq-Turkey war of words over Mosul
Washington (AFP) Oct 11, 2016 - As Turkey and Iraq traded insults over the Turkish troop presence outside Mosul on Tuesday, the United States urged its allies to resolve the spat before a major offensive on the city.
Iraq is preparing to fight to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State group with support from the United States and a broad -- though sometimes fractious -- coalition of international partners.
But recent preparations for the looming offensive have been overshadowed by tensions between Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Abadi has repeatedly urged Turkey to withdraw troops deployed near the northern city in an area nominally part of Iraq but controlled by forces loyal to the country's autonomous Kurdish region.
Erdogan has refused, insisting that Turkey has a role to play in liberating the city from the jihadists, and with tempers rising, both sides have resorted to insults.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the operation would be led by Iraq and that it was a matter for Baghdad which forces should be deployed on its sovereign territory.
"The Turkish forces that are deployed in Iraq are not there as part of the international coalition and the situation in Bashiqa is a matter for the governments of Iraq and Turkey to resolve," he said.
Ankara maintains an estimated 2,000 troops in Iraq, around 500 of them in the Bashiqa camp training local fighters whom Turkish media say will join the battle to recapture Mosul.
"It is imperative for all parties to coordinate closely over the coming days and weeks to ensure unity of effort," Kirby added later, in a statement released as Ankara and Baghdad traded barbs.
Abadi's latest gibe was scripted to get under Erdogan's skin, mocking a desperate video call he made to a television station in July to prove he was still alive during a military coup attempt.
"We will liberate our land through the determination of our men and not by video calls," Abadi's official Twitter account said.
Earlier, Erdogan had sneered at Abadi's call for him to withdraw his force back to Turkey.
"It's not important at all how you shout from Iraq. You should know that we will do what we want to do," he said.
"Who's that? The Iraqi prime minister. First you know your place!"
The Kurdish peshmerga forces that control the area where Turkey's troops are deployed are in practice not under Abadi's command, but they are expected to play a key role in the upcoming battle.
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