Turkish FM meets UN envoy for Iraq

By Zuhal Demirci

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met UN envoy for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaer on Monday.

Cavusoglu and Hennis-Plasschaer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, discussed the issues of reconstruction in Iraq and the pending issues in Kirkuk.

In a tweet, Cavusoglu said: "Discussed w/@JeanineHennis, @UNIraq Special Representative, reconstruction of #Iraq &stressed support in pending issues, especially in Kirkuk."

More than 5 million Iraqis were forced to flee districts in the provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Saladin, Anbar, Diyala, as well as parts of Babil and the outskirts of Baghdad after self-proclaimed Daesh terrorists reportedly overran much of northern and western Iraq in 2014.

After officials in Baghdad declared the terror group’s military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled following operations backed by the U.S.-led coalition in December 2017, many returned home but some are still unable to return to their neighborhoods because of the destruction of their houses during the war against Daesh, lack of infrastructure and basic services and the instability of the security situation.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit