Thursday, July 19, 2007
Iraq protests shelling of N. Iraq by Turkey
Region
(Reuters) - Turkey's army heavily shelled Kurdish rebel targets just inside the border of northern Iraq on Wednesday, Kurdish officials said on Thursday. Iraq's government condemned the latest shelling of its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and urged Turkey to hold talks to resolve Ankara's concerns about rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who are based in the border area.
Jabar Yawer, deputy minister for security forces in Iraq's Kurdistan, said about 100 shells were fired around the town of Zakho in northern Iraq. No one was hurt but many residents were forced to flee, he told Reuters.
The barrage followed the killing of three Turkish soldiers when their vehicle hit a rebel landmine near the border with Iraq, he said.
Iraqi Kurdish officials said they were not aware of Turkish war planes carrying out bombing raids on Wednesday although some witnesses said they saw a plane bomb a mountain top. Turkey, which never comments on reports it has carried out such military action, accuses PKK militants of using bases in the mountains of northern Iraq to strike at its forces.
The Iraqi government, without specifying dates, said it "regrets Turkish military operations that are using artillery and war planes to bomb Iraqi border villages and cities in Dahuk province". "The Iraqi government calls on Turkey to stop these operations to return to dialogue and understanding," the statement said.
The Turkish army has raised troop levels in the country's restive southeast to 200,000, security sources say. It refuses to rule out the possibility of a cross-border operation. Rumors of a possible Turkish incursion into neighboring, mainly Kurdish, northern Iraq have rattled financial markets and have drawn warnings from the United States, Ankara's NATO ally, to stay out.
The Turkish troop movements have come before a bitterly contested campaign for Turkish parliamentary elections on Sunday which has triggered an upsurge in nationalism and could strengthen those who demand stronger action against the PKK. Washington fears any major operation by Turkey in northern Iraq could stoke wider conflict in a relatively peaceful region of the war-torn country.
Jabar Yawer, deputy minister for security forces in Iraq's Kurdistan, said about 100 shells were fired around the town of Zakho in northern Iraq. No one was hurt but many residents were forced to flee, he told Reuters.
The barrage followed the killing of three Turkish soldiers when their vehicle hit a rebel landmine near the border with Iraq, he said.
Iraqi Kurdish officials said they were not aware of Turkish war planes carrying out bombing raids on Wednesday although some witnesses said they saw a plane bomb a mountain top. Turkey, which never comments on reports it has carried out such military action, accuses PKK militants of using bases in the mountains of northern Iraq to strike at its forces.
The Iraqi government, without specifying dates, said it "regrets Turkish military operations that are using artillery and war planes to bomb Iraqi border villages and cities in Dahuk province". "The Iraqi government calls on Turkey to stop these operations to return to dialogue and understanding," the statement said.
The Turkish army has raised troop levels in the country's restive southeast to 200,000, security sources say. It refuses to rule out the possibility of a cross-border operation. Rumors of a possible Turkish incursion into neighboring, mainly Kurdish, northern Iraq have rattled financial markets and have drawn warnings from the United States, Ankara's NATO ally, to stay out.
The Turkish troop movements have come before a bitterly contested campaign for Turkish parliamentary elections on Sunday which has triggered an upsurge in nationalism and could strengthen those who demand stronger action against the PKK. Washington fears any major operation by Turkey in northern Iraq could stoke wider conflict in a relatively peaceful region of the war-torn country.
Labels: Jabar Yawer, northern Iraq, PKK, Turkey, Zakhu
Friday, May 25, 2007
Turkey violates Kurdish airspace
Security, Kurdistan, Turkey
(Voices of Iraq) - A military source from Iraq's Kurdistan region said on Thursday two Turkish warplanes violated Iraqi northern Kurdistan airspace near the borders with Turkey. "Two Turkish warplanes violated today the Kurdistan region airspace for a distance of ten kilometers inside the Iraqi territories," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The warplanes flew over Kurdish villages west of Zakho, the source added. Meanwhile, local residents from villages on the borders with Turkey told VOI "12 artillery shells were fired from the Turkish territories onto the villages of Nazador and Gali Bazagha with no reports of casualties." Duhuk, third province within Kurdistan region, is in the farthest north of Iraq and it has borders with Turkey and Syria.
The warplanes flew over Kurdish villages west of Zakho, the source added. Meanwhile, local residents from villages on the borders with Turkey told VOI "12 artillery shells were fired from the Turkish territories onto the villages of Nazador and Gali Bazagha with no reports of casualties." Duhuk, third province within Kurdistan region, is in the farthest north of Iraq and it has borders with Turkey and Syria.
(Stratfor) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would support Turkey's generals if they chose to attack Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq in retaliation for the May 22 suicide bombing in Ankara. The Kurdistan Workers' Party has denied responsibility for the blast. Erdogan also said the United States should do more to crack down on Kurdish separatists in Iraq.
COMMENT: Previously Turkey's military command and politicians have been divided on attacking Kurdistan to pursue the PKK, with the military pushing for an attack and the politicians prefering a more diplomatic approach. The chances of Turkey attacking will rise now that the two sides are (temporarily) united. Also, the politicians had to be seen to be doing something following the Ankara bombing. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Ankara, bombings, Kurdistan, PKK, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish warplanes, Zakhu
Monday, April 09, 2007
Turkish forces shell northern Iraqi Kurdish village
Security, Turkey, Kurdistan
(VOI) – Turkish forces shelled with artillery the area of northern Zakhu, on the borders of Iraq, but no casualties or injuries were reported, eyewitnesses in Bativa in northern Zakhu said on Sunday. "The shelling occurred on Sunday, about 2 km north of the village of Nazdor," Mustafa Shilani, a local from the village, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). He said no casualties resulted from the attack but it caused panic among the villagers.
Zakhu is the capital city of Dahuk in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Brig. Fahmi Sufi, deputy commander of the Peshmerga's 1st Division, told VOI by telephone that nine Turkish 120 mm artillery shells were fired near the border village of Nazdor. The Peshmerga forces are Kurdish militias loyal to the largest two Kurdish parties: Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
COMMENT: It is possible the attack was both a warning and in retaliation for three Turkish soldiers allegedly killed a few days ago by the PKK. The concern is that the tension will mount and as ground conditions improve as spring starts retaliation attacks will continue which could mount. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: artillery shells, PKK, Turkish forces, Zakhu
