Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Turkey prepares for possible incursion into northern Iraq
Region
(Al Jazeera) - Turkey is preparing for a possible incursion into northern Iraq as the government says it is willing to take all necessary measures against Kurdish separatists it suspects of hiding there. The decision by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, follows a series of deadly attacks by the rebel PKK group on Turkish security forces.
"To put an end to the terrorist organisation operating in the neighbouring country [Iraq], the order has been given to take every kind of measure, legal, economic, political, including also a cross-border operation if necessary," Erdogan's office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Kurdish rebels have killed 15 soldiers in separate attacks in the past two days. There is increasing anger in the country over the rebels' ability to find refuge in neighbouring Iraq. The military said on Sunday it had shelled an area near Iraq to try to stop PKK members from escaping across the border after an attack in the southeast province of Sirnak that killed 13 soldiers. However, residents in northern Iraq claim the Turkish shelling is landing well within their territory. Kurdish farmers displayed craters on Tuesday they said were left by artillery shells that hit close to the border.
Ankara has not confirmed any shelling of Iraqi territory. Local officials in the Iraqi Kurdish-run northern region, feared the shelling was a sign of more to come. In the city of Arbil, 350km north of Baghdad, the Kurdish governor warned Turkey on Tuesday that its troops would sustain heavy losses if they began operations in the region.
"To put an end to the terrorist organisation operating in the neighbouring country [Iraq], the order has been given to take every kind of measure, legal, economic, political, including also a cross-border operation if necessary," Erdogan's office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Kurdish rebels have killed 15 soldiers in separate attacks in the past two days. There is increasing anger in the country over the rebels' ability to find refuge in neighbouring Iraq. The military said on Sunday it had shelled an area near Iraq to try to stop PKK members from escaping across the border after an attack in the southeast province of Sirnak that killed 13 soldiers. However, residents in northern Iraq claim the Turkish shelling is landing well within their territory. Kurdish farmers displayed craters on Tuesday they said were left by artillery shells that hit close to the border.
Ankara has not confirmed any shelling of Iraqi territory. Local officials in the Iraqi Kurdish-run northern region, feared the shelling was a sign of more to come. In the city of Arbil, 350km north of Baghdad, the Kurdish governor warned Turkey on Tuesday that its troops would sustain heavy losses if they began operations in the region.
Nozad Hadi, the region's governor, said: "If the Turkish troops decided to enter into the Iraq's Kurdistan territories, their decision would be wrong and they would sustain heavy casualties and material losses." Turkey's parliament would have to authorise any large-scale military operation into Iraq, but troops could pursue rebels over the border in smaller, so-called "hot pursuit" operations without such authorisation.
The US said it supported Turkey and Iraq in their efforts to combat the PKK but warned against military incursions from Ankara. Al Jazeera's Yusuf Sharif in Ankara says Turkey is unlikely to send troops into its neighbour in the near future given that it is due to host a regional conference next month with Iraqi representatives among the attendees. Sharif also said that the government in Baghdad wants time for a recent security agreement signed with Turkey to take effect.
Yusuf Kanli from the Turkish Daily News said while there was public pressure on the Erdogan government to show it was able to deal effectively with PKK rebels it needed to differentiate between the group and the wider Kurdish issue. "You can not end this kind of terrorism through military action, there are other factors to consider such as political, and social elements that intermingle," he told Al Jazeera. "But Turkey can not in any way ignore the need to provide security for its country. They have to differentiate between PKK and the Kurdish problem."
Labels: northern Iraq, PKK, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Sirnak province, Turkey
