Türkiye urges citizens to leave Iraq as security risks spike

The Turkish Embassy in Baghdad urged its citizens in Iraq on March 16 to exercise caution amid growing regional tensions and advised them to leave the country by land if necessary.

In its statement, the embassy warned that Iraq’s security situation could deteriorate rapidly due to regional events and called on Turkish nationals to avoid crowded areas and public events across the country, including Baghdad’s Green Zone, protest sites, airports in Baghdad and Erbil, and areas near air defence systems, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The mission also cautioned against staying in densely populated areas of Mosul and its suburbs, parts of Basra, the outskirts of Kirkuk, military zones, and oil fields throughout Iraq, emphasising that citizens prioritise their personal safety.

The embassy noted that the highway connecting Türkiye and Iraq remains open via the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing and recommended that citizens avoid travelling to Iraq whenever possible.

By Jeyhun Aghazada