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Iranian forces enter Kurdistan-Iraq, clash
with Kurdish rebels: Kurds
25.11.2006 |
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SULAIMANIYAH,
Kurdistan Region (Iraq), November 25, -- Iranian
forces attacked a Kurdish rebel post at the Iraqi
border and clashed with guerrillas early Saturday,
before pulling back, Kurdish officials and rebels
reported.
Mustafa Sayyed Qader, deputy commander of the
Kurdish militia of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,
told AFP that Iranian forces attacked a customs post
of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), without
crossing the border.
The PKK, however, maintained that Iranian forces
actually entered Iraq in the course of its attack.
"A number of Iranian forces crossed into Iraqi
territory Saturday morning in the Nowzang border
area," said Jingawr, a PKK leader who goes by a
single name.
The PKK, waging a guerrilla war against Turkey, is
based in northern Iraq's Mount Qandil area, together
with the anti-Iranian Party of Free Life in
Kurdistan (PJAK - Party for a Free Life in
Kurdistan) .
"A force of PJAK attacked them and the clashes
continued for an hour until Iranian forces withdrew
to their posts inside their own territory," said
Jingawr.
Iran, which has its own Kurdish minority, has been
battling infiltrations by the PJAK for more than a
year.
Iran is bound by treaty with Turkey to fight the PKK.
In return, Turkey is under a pledge to fight the
Iranian armed opposition group, the Iraq-based
People's Mujahedeen.
That group was effectively neutralised when it
surrendered its arms to US forces following the 2003
invasion to unseat Saddam Hussein.
PJAK, which has close ties with the PKK, was formed
in the late 1990s and describes itself as struggling
for the Kurdish identity in Iran as well as for
democracy.
Jingawr said there were no PJAK casualties, nor was
he aware of any Iranian casualties.
Iranian Kurdistan (Eastern Kurdistan) is an
unofficial name for the parts of Iran inhabited by
Kurds and has borders with Iraq and Turkey. It
includes the greater parts of West Azerbaijan
province, Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province,
and Ilam Province. Kurds form the majority of the
population of this region with an estimated
population of 4 million. The region is the eastern
part of the greater cultural-geographical area
called Kurdistan.
The present leader of the organisation is Haji
Ahmadi. According to the Washington Times, half the
members of PJAK are women, many of them still in
their teens, and one of the female members of the
leadership council is Gulistan Dugan, a psychology
graduate from the University of Tehran. This is due
primarily to the fact that PJAK is strongly
supportive of women's rights. PJAK believes that
women must have a strong role in government and must
be on an equal level with men in leadership
positions.
More about PEJAK- Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan
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More about Iranian Kurdistan
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