Wednesday, October 17, 2007
PKK leader says the group will defend itself from Turkey
Region
(Al Jazeera) - The head of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) military operations in northern Iraq has told Al Jazeera that the group will confront Turkish forces if they are attacked. Murat Karayilan gave his statement a day before Turkey's parliament was to meet to decide whether to sanction military operations against PKK bases inside Iraq.
"If Turkey is going to use violence against our movement, our leader and our people, then we will respond," Karayilan said on Tuesday. Iraq's government said on Wednesday that it will send a delegation to Turkey to show that it is committed to stopping PKK fighters operating in Iraq. Karayilan said Turkey was using the threat of military action against the PKK to put pressure on Iraqi Kurdistan. Ankara has been angered by a series of recent attacks by the PKK inside Turkey in which dozens of soldiers and civilians have been killed. He was speaking from his camp in the Qandil mountains straddling the Iraq-Turkey border.
On Tuesday, Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraq's deputy president, arrived in Ankara for talks with Turkish leaders. Al-Hashemi appealed to Turkey for more time to tackle Kurdish separatist fighters rebels based in northern Iraq, Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday. "Give us time to join forces with Turkey to tackle this problem, which harms the national security of both countries," Anatolia quoted Hashemi as saying. "If the Iraqi government fails to meet its responsibilities, Turkey will be justified in doing what is necessary to protect its security interests."
James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Baghdad, said that whatever Baghdad says, the final decision rests with Kurdish political leaders as the embattled central Iraqi government has little authority in the Kurdish north of the country.
"If Turkey is going to use violence against our movement, our leader and our people, then we will respond," Karayilan said on Tuesday. Iraq's government said on Wednesday that it will send a delegation to Turkey to show that it is committed to stopping PKK fighters operating in Iraq. Karayilan said Turkey was using the threat of military action against the PKK to put pressure on Iraqi Kurdistan. Ankara has been angered by a series of recent attacks by the PKK inside Turkey in which dozens of soldiers and civilians have been killed. He was speaking from his camp in the Qandil mountains straddling the Iraq-Turkey border.
On Tuesday, Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraq's deputy president, arrived in Ankara for talks with Turkish leaders. Al-Hashemi appealed to Turkey for more time to tackle Kurdish separatist fighters rebels based in northern Iraq, Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday. "Give us time to join forces with Turkey to tackle this problem, which harms the national security of both countries," Anatolia quoted Hashemi as saying. "If the Iraqi government fails to meet its responsibilities, Turkey will be justified in doing what is necessary to protect its security interests."
James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Baghdad, said that whatever Baghdad says, the final decision rests with Kurdish political leaders as the embattled central Iraqi government has little authority in the Kurdish north of the country.
Karayilan said PKK fighters were not crossing the border to carry out attacks on Turkish territory. "It is not true that we are crossing the border. We have fighters everywhere. It is not necessary to send them from here. "Their [Turkey's] aim is to attack Iraqi Kurds."
The PKK leader in Iraq said Turkey was also hoping to put pressure on the US after a congressional panel said last week that mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I was genocide - a charge Turkey denies. Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
The PKK leader in Iraq said Turkey was also hoping to put pressure on the US after a congressional panel said last week that mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I was genocide - a charge Turkey denies. Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
Labels: Murat Karayilan, PKK, Qandil mountains, Tareq al-Hashemi, Turkey
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Iran to build border wall to keep PKK out
Region
(AKI) - Iran has begun the construction of a wall along the border with war-torn Iraq, to prevent militants of the Kurdistan's Workers Party (PKK) out of the country. According to government sources in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, work on the first four kilometer long section of the wall are underway in the area of the Haj Omran border crossing, near the Qandil mountains.
The area is just six-kilometers from where US-troops stationed in Southern Kurdistan are building a new military base. The Pentagon has also announced the construction of armored military checkpoints, on all roads that lead from Iran to Iraq. The US military says the checkpoints aim to help curb the flow of weapons from Iran and destined for Iraqi insurgents.
Labels: Haj Omran, Iran, Iraq, PKK, Qandil mountains
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Kurdish guerillas launch secret war in Iran
Region
(Daily Telegraph) - Kurdish guerrillas have launched a clandestine war in northwestern Iran, ambushing troops as they seek Western backing to secure an ethnic homeland. In retaliation, the Iranian army has carried out a series of counterattacks in the mountains, which span the border with Iraq. Murat Karayilan, a Kurdish guerrilla commander, told the Daily Telegraph that Tehran had originally tried to recruit the outlawed groups to fight coalition troops in Iraq.
"The U.S. and Britain came to Iraq to establish a democratic system, but this scared the Iranians, so they negotiated with us and offered many things to attack the coalition," he said under a canopy of trees near his headquarters on Iraqi territory in the Qandil Mountains. Iranian newspapers have reported the deaths of seven soldiers in recent clashes with Kurdish guerrillas. Last month, the rebels claimed responsibility for shooting down an Iranian helicopter.
A loose alliance of guerrillas, styling itself the Kurdistan Democratic Federation, is fighting for an independent state which would cover the Kurdish-majority areas of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Mr. Karayilan, who is from the PKK guerrilla group, said Iran and Turkey were acting in tandem to repress their Kurdish regions. But, he added, the Kurds have been inspired by the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, which has been relatively secure since Saddam Hussein's downfall in 2003. "The regional government in Iraqi Kurdistan has increased the national feeling of Kurds everywhere," he said.
Iran believes that the U.S. and Britain are now arming and training the Kurdish guerrillas to strike its territory from bases inside Iraq. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, accused America of supporting terrorism inside the Islamic Republic. " America wants to carry out actions such as blowing up the country's oil pipelines by supporting bandits and small groups of Kurdish rebels," he told the Iranian press.
"The U.S. and Britain came to Iraq to establish a democratic system, but this scared the Iranians, so they negotiated with us and offered many things to attack the coalition," he said under a canopy of trees near his headquarters on Iraqi territory in the Qandil Mountains. Iranian newspapers have reported the deaths of seven soldiers in recent clashes with Kurdish guerrillas. Last month, the rebels claimed responsibility for shooting down an Iranian helicopter.
A loose alliance of guerrillas, styling itself the Kurdistan Democratic Federation, is fighting for an independent state which would cover the Kurdish-majority areas of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Mr. Karayilan, who is from the PKK guerrilla group, said Iran and Turkey were acting in tandem to repress their Kurdish regions. But, he added, the Kurds have been inspired by the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, which has been relatively secure since Saddam Hussein's downfall in 2003. "The regional government in Iraqi Kurdistan has increased the national feeling of Kurds everywhere," he said.
Iran believes that the U.S. and Britain are now arming and training the Kurdish guerrillas to strike its territory from bases inside Iraq. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, accused America of supporting terrorism inside the Islamic Republic. " America wants to carry out actions such as blowing up the country's oil pipelines by supporting bandits and small groups of Kurdish rebels," he told the Iranian press.
Labels: Iran, Kurdistan Democratic Federation, Murat Karayilan, PKK, Qandil mountains
Monday, September 03, 2007
Iranian bombing displaces hundreds in Kurdistan
Humanitarian
(AP) -- Iranian troops have been accused of bombing border areas for weeks against suspected positions of the Free Life Party, or PEJAK, a breakaway faction of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party. Iran says PEJAK -- which seeks autonomy for Kurds in Iran -- launches attacks inside Iran from bases in Iraq.
Shelling of border areas resumed Saturday after a brief lull with Iranian shells hitting the Iraqi side of the border and causing some fires. Associated Press Television News showed white smoke billowing from mountainous areas as well as Kurdish shepherds carrying carcasses of several sheep killed by the shelling.
The Iranian shelling has been criticized by Iraqi officials and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned it could have negative effects on the crucial relations between Iran and Iraq's Shiite-led government. Ari Yashir, a PEJAK member, took a reporter in a tour around several deserted villages and claimed the Iranian attacks only serve to harm civilians. "The bombing is only targeting villages where we have no bases," he said. "After three weeks of Iranian shelling none of our positions was hit and not a single member of our party was wounded."
Most of the people who fled their homes have gathered in an area known as Shewe Hasow, a valley with water springs in the Qandil Mountain area that borders Iran and Turkey. Many of them stay in tents or under covers mostly supplied by the International Committee of the Red Cross. "We are here because the refugees are in need," said ICRC member Patrick Youssef, standing by a truck with canned food and bottled water. "We are helping them with needed stuff because most of them left their homes leaving their things behind."
The Kurdish region's interior minister, Othman Haji Mahmoud, told the Kurdish regional parliament Tuesday that the Iranian shelling led to the displacement of some 450 families in 20 villages adding that several people were wounded in addition to material damages. He said the latest wave of shelling began Aug. 14.
Zebari said in Baghdad Tuesday that the main areas struck are in the northern provinces of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah. Iranian shelling "has been ongoing and unfortunately has become a daily or a routine practice. Recently, we summoned the Iranian ambassador and handed him a note of protest."
"PEJAK sometimes moves in border area, but this does not permit all this continuous, daily and intensive shelling," said Zebari, a Kurd, who noted that Iraq was prepared to hold negotiations with Iran on the disputes over Kurdish rebel groups. "We hope that these attacks will stop immediately."
To some Kurds in the region, they have been living the war for decades, including widespread atrocities blamed on Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s. "We are the victims of a continuous struggle. My house was destroyed five times and I rebuilt it. Let this be the sixth time," said Abdullah Wasou Ibrahim, who fled to the refugee camp with 10 family members.
Shelling of border areas resumed Saturday after a brief lull with Iranian shells hitting the Iraqi side of the border and causing some fires. Associated Press Television News showed white smoke billowing from mountainous areas as well as Kurdish shepherds carrying carcasses of several sheep killed by the shelling.
The Iranian shelling has been criticized by Iraqi officials and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari warned it could have negative effects on the crucial relations between Iran and Iraq's Shiite-led government. Ari Yashir, a PEJAK member, took a reporter in a tour around several deserted villages and claimed the Iranian attacks only serve to harm civilians. "The bombing is only targeting villages where we have no bases," he said. "After three weeks of Iranian shelling none of our positions was hit and not a single member of our party was wounded."
Most of the people who fled their homes have gathered in an area known as Shewe Hasow, a valley with water springs in the Qandil Mountain area that borders Iran and Turkey. Many of them stay in tents or under covers mostly supplied by the International Committee of the Red Cross. "We are here because the refugees are in need," said ICRC member Patrick Youssef, standing by a truck with canned food and bottled water. "We are helping them with needed stuff because most of them left their homes leaving their things behind."
The Kurdish region's interior minister, Othman Haji Mahmoud, told the Kurdish regional parliament Tuesday that the Iranian shelling led to the displacement of some 450 families in 20 villages adding that several people were wounded in addition to material damages. He said the latest wave of shelling began Aug. 14.
Zebari said in Baghdad Tuesday that the main areas struck are in the northern provinces of Irbil and Sulaimaniyah. Iranian shelling "has been ongoing and unfortunately has become a daily or a routine practice. Recently, we summoned the Iranian ambassador and handed him a note of protest."
"PEJAK sometimes moves in border area, but this does not permit all this continuous, daily and intensive shelling," said Zebari, a Kurd, who noted that Iraq was prepared to hold negotiations with Iran on the disputes over Kurdish rebel groups. "We hope that these attacks will stop immediately."
To some Kurds in the region, they have been living the war for decades, including widespread atrocities blamed on Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s. "We are the victims of a continuous struggle. My house was destroyed five times and I rebuilt it. Let this be the sixth time," said Abdullah Wasou Ibrahim, who fled to the refugee camp with 10 family members.
Labels: International Committee of the Red Cross, Iran, Pejak, Qandil mountains, Shewe Hasow
Monday, August 20, 2007
Kurdish officials concerned as fierce clashes escalate between Kurdish guerrillas and Iranian forces
Security
(The Guardian) - Iraqi Kurdish officials expressed deepening concern yesterday at an upsurge in fierce clashes between Kurdish guerrillas and Iranian forces in the remote border area of north-east Iraq, where Tehran has recently deployed thousands of Revolutionary Guards.
Jabar Yawar, a deputy minister in the Kurdistan regional government, said four days of intermittent shelling by Iranian forces had hit mountain villages high up on the Iraqi side of the border, wounding two women, destroying livestock and property, and displacing about 1,000 people from their homes. Mr Yawer said there had also been intense fighting on the Iraqi border between Iranian forces and guerrillas of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Iranian Kurdish group that is stepping up its campaign for Kurdish rights against the theocratic regime in Tehran.
On Saturday the Iranian news agency Mehr said an Iranian army helicopter which crashed killing six Republican Guard members had been engaged in a military operation against PJAK. Iranian officials said the helicopter had crashed into the side of a mountain during bad weather in northern Iraq. PJAK sources said the helicopter had been destroyed after it attempted to land in a clearing mined by guerrillas. The PJAK sources claimed its guerrillas had also killed at least five other Iranian soldiers, and a local pro-regime chief, Hussein Bapir.
"If this escalates it could pose a real threat to the Kurdistan region, which is Iraq's most stable area," said Mr Yawar, who said he expected the Iraqi government and US officials in Iraq to make a formal protest to Tehran about the "blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty".
Analysts believe PJAK is the fastest growing armed resistance group in Iran. As well as the 3,000 or so members under arms in the mountains, it also claims tens of thousands of followers in secret cells in Iranian Kurdistan. Its campaigning on women's rights has struck a chord with young Iranian Kurdish women. The group says 45% of its fighters are female. Iranian authorities regard the group as a terrorist outfit being sponsored and armed by the US to increase pressure on Iran.
On a recent visit to PJAK camps in the Qandil mountains the Guardian saw no evidence of American weaponry. The majority of its fighters toted Soviet-era Kalashnikovs. In an interview Biryar Gabar, a member of the leadership committee, said the group had no relations with the Americans, but was "open to any group that shares our ideals of a free federal democratic and secular Iran."
Jabar Yawar, a deputy minister in the Kurdistan regional government, said four days of intermittent shelling by Iranian forces had hit mountain villages high up on the Iraqi side of the border, wounding two women, destroying livestock and property, and displacing about 1,000 people from their homes. Mr Yawer said there had also been intense fighting on the Iraqi border between Iranian forces and guerrillas of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Iranian Kurdish group that is stepping up its campaign for Kurdish rights against the theocratic regime in Tehran.
On Saturday the Iranian news agency Mehr said an Iranian army helicopter which crashed killing six Republican Guard members had been engaged in a military operation against PJAK. Iranian officials said the helicopter had crashed into the side of a mountain during bad weather in northern Iraq. PJAK sources said the helicopter had been destroyed after it attempted to land in a clearing mined by guerrillas. The PJAK sources claimed its guerrillas had also killed at least five other Iranian soldiers, and a local pro-regime chief, Hussein Bapir.
"If this escalates it could pose a real threat to the Kurdistan region, which is Iraq's most stable area," said Mr Yawar, who said he expected the Iraqi government and US officials in Iraq to make a formal protest to Tehran about the "blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty".
Analysts believe PJAK is the fastest growing armed resistance group in Iran. As well as the 3,000 or so members under arms in the mountains, it also claims tens of thousands of followers in secret cells in Iranian Kurdistan. Its campaigning on women's rights has struck a chord with young Iranian Kurdish women. The group says 45% of its fighters are female. Iranian authorities regard the group as a terrorist outfit being sponsored and armed by the US to increase pressure on Iran.
On a recent visit to PJAK camps in the Qandil mountains the Guardian saw no evidence of American weaponry. The majority of its fighters toted Soviet-era Kalashnikovs. In an interview Biryar Gabar, a member of the leadership committee, said the group had no relations with the Americans, but was "open to any group that shares our ideals of a free federal democratic and secular Iran."
Labels: Biryar Gabar, IDPs, Iran, Jabar Yawar, KRG, Kurdistan, Kurdistan Free Life Party, PJAK, Qandil mountains, Revolutionary Guards
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Iranian forces shell guerilla hide-out in northern Iraq
Security, Iran
(AFP) - Iranian forces bombarded northern Iraq's rugged Qandil mountains with mortars Wednesday, targeting Kurdish guerrillas, a local official said. The barrage lasted much of the day and targeted several villages, said Hussein Ahmed, the mayor of Bashdar, one of the targeted villages. "I expect there will be both human and material losses, but I do not know right now the extent of the damage," he told reporters.
The snow-capped Qandil mountains run along Iraq's border with both Turkey and Iran, and are home to separatist guerrillas from the anti-Iranian faction Pejak, an offshoot of Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), which opposes Turkey.
The movements have fought for decades for the autonomy of the Kurdish people, though recently they claim to have abandoned violence in favor of a peaceful solution. Turkey has threatened to invade the northern Iraqi PKK haven if their activities are not reigned in by the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, while Iran frequently shells the area.
The snow-capped Qandil mountains run along Iraq's border with both Turkey and Iran, and are home to separatist guerrillas from the anti-Iranian faction Pejak, an offshoot of Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), which opposes Turkey.
The movements have fought for decades for the autonomy of the Kurdish people, though recently they claim to have abandoned violence in favor of a peaceful solution. Turkey has threatened to invade the northern Iraqi PKK haven if their activities are not reigned in by the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, while Iran frequently shells the area.
Labels: Iranian forces, mortar rounds, Pejak, Qandil mountains
Friday, March 23, 2007
Turkey ready to hit back at PKK if U.S. doesn't act
Security, Politics, Region
(The Guardian) - The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the battle to save Iraq from disintegration. Senior Bush administration officials have assured Turkey in recent days that US forces will increase efforts to root out Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas enjoying safe haven in the Qandil mountains, on the Iraq-Iran-Turkey border.
But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey - and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act. Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in prospect unless Ankara backed off.
The firm Turkish belief that the US is playing a double game in northern Iraq is destabilising the relationship between Turkey and the U.S. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming the PKK's sister organisation, the Iran-based Kurdistan Free Life party, to destabilise the Iranian government. Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state, said last week that the US was acting to assuage Turkish concerns. "We are committed to eliminating the threat of PKK terrorism in northern Iraq," he said.
General Joseph Ralston, the US special envoy dealing with the PKK issue, was less upbeat, admitting that "the potential for Turkish cross-border action" was growing. "We have reached a critical point in which the pressure of continued [PKK] attacks has placed immense public pressure upon the government of Turkey to take some military action. As the snows melt in the mountain passes, we will see if the PKK renews its attacks and how the Turkish government responds ... I hope the Turks will continue to stand by us."
But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey - and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act. Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in prospect unless Ankara backed off.
The firm Turkish belief that the US is playing a double game in northern Iraq is destabilising the relationship between Turkey and the U.S. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming the PKK's sister organisation, the Iran-based Kurdistan Free Life party, to destabilise the Iranian government. Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state, said last week that the US was acting to assuage Turkish concerns. "We are committed to eliminating the threat of PKK terrorism in northern Iraq," he said.
General Joseph Ralston, the US special envoy dealing with the PKK issue, was less upbeat, admitting that "the potential for Turkish cross-border action" was growing. "We have reached a critical point in which the pressure of continued [PKK] attacks has placed immense public pressure upon the government of Turkey to take some military action. As the snows melt in the mountain passes, we will see if the PKK renews its attacks and how the Turkish government responds ... I hope the Turks will continue to stand by us."
Labels: Abdullah Gul, General Joseph Ralston, Kurdistan, Murat Karayilan, PKK, Qandil mountains, Turkey, U.S.
