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ANKARA, March 4 (AFP) - The Turkish army has
deployed 1,357 soldiers in northern Iraq to fight
Kurdish separatists, Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul,
press reports said Friday.
Gonul, in answer to parliamentary questions
Thursday, said the Turkish troops, deployed since
1992 in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, were
there mainly to pursue the Kurdish separatist
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Turkish officers in the area also act as liaison
with US troops deployed in Kirkuk, Mosul and Tall
Afar, the minister added.
An estimated 5,000 Kurdish separatists have taken
refuge in the mountains of northern Iraq, according
to Turkish authorities.
The PKK waged a bloody 15-year war for self-rule in
the mainly Kurdish eastern and southeastern parts of
Turkey -- claiming more than 36,000 lives -- before
announcing a unilateral ceasefire in 1999. It is on
the European Union's list of terrorist
organisations.
The group called off the truce in June last year,
threatening to carry out attacks and warning
tourists and investors to stay away from the
country.
Since then, there has been a sharp increase in
clashes between the rebels and Turkish government
troops.
AFP
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