Turkey stresses importance of control of Tal Afar by local and legitimate Iraqi forces

Turkey underlined the importance of bringing Tal Afar under the control of local people and the Iraqi army, not Shia militias, following the liberation of the city from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 

"We welcome the successful completion of the military operation started on Aug. 20, 2017 for the liberation of Tal Afar, populated densely by our Turkmen brothers and sisters in Iraq throughout history and which has been under the occupation of Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ISIL] since June 2014," said a statement from the Foreign Ministry on Aug. 31.

The ministry emphasized that Turkey, which had opened its gates to tens of thousands of people from Tal Afar fleeing from ISIL, will now stand with them in the post-ISIL period as well. 

In the upcoming period, the people responsible for the cruel acts by ISIL must be brought to justice and sentenced with legitimate punishment, said the statement.

The ministry stressed security should be maintained by legitimate Iraqi security forces and the people of Tal Afar instead of "militia groups acting according to their own agenda."

Negative circumstances that have led to the emergence of radical groups such as ISIL, should be avoided, the ministry added.