Tuesday, April 17, 2007
PKK warns Turkey to hold talks or rebels will break cease fire
Security, Turkey
(AP) - A Kurdish rebel commander warned Turkey Monday that if it does not negotiate with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, the group will stop abiding by a cease fire it declared unilaterally and resume cross-border attacks. Haval Jangawer, a PKK commander speaking by telephone from Qandil Mountains on the border with Turkey, said Iraq's northern neighbor has massed about 60 tanks, artillery pieces and thousands of soldiers near the border with Iraq.
His comments came amid fighting between Turkish troops and PKK fighters, as well as increasing tensions between Turkey and Iraq's Kurds who recently warned their northern neighbor not to interfere in Iraq's affairs or face retaliation from the PKK. Last week, Turkish chief of the armed forces Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said "an operation into Iraq is necessary." He said the military was conducting several "large scale" offensives against separatist Kurdish rebels in the predominantly Kurdish southeastern region. The announcement comes as Turkey has been intensifying pressure on Iraq and the United States to crack down on the rebels who launch raids from bases in northern Iraq.
Turkish troops were not expected to cross the border, although they did on several occasions before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Jangawer said Turkey "will either have to accept our unilateral cease-fire and solve the Kurdish problem through negotiations or we will start fighting again." PKK fighters have held a cease-fire since Oct.1, but the Turkey military has ignored it, vowing to continue fighting until all rebels are killed or surrender.
Labels: Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, Haval Jangawer, Kurdistan, Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, Turkey
