|
Iraq president to move against Kurdish
rebels
3.8.2006
|
|
|
|
BAGHDAD, August
2, (AFP) , -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said
Wednesday he had personally
intervened with the Turkish government to diffuse
tensions over cross-border raids by Kurdish
guerrilla
movements in northern Iraq.
Last month, Ankara threatened military action if
cross-border attacks by militants from the Kurdistan
Worker's
Party (PKK) did not cease.
"I have personally intervened on the issue of the
PKK and I called the Turkish envoy and assured him
the Iraqi
government is serious about stopping the use of
Iraqi land by armed groups against neighboring
countries," said
Talabani, himself a Kurd, in a press conference
about security matters.
"Iraqi will do its utmost to stop the PKK from using
Iraqi land against Turkey," he said, adding that he
had already
closed some offices for pro-PKK groups. |
Iraqi
President : Jalal Talabani, a Kurd
Photo: Military |
Talabani said that he expected a trilateral meeting
with Turkey and the US on the issue soon.
The announcement comes after Ankara dramatically
moderated its tone on the issue, apparently in
response to Talabani's phone call.
"Iraq has recently given us information about the
measures it foresees to stop the activities of the
PKK terrorist organization in Iraq," foreign
ministry spokesman Namik Tan told a press conference
in Ankara on Wednesday.
Turkey says the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by
both Ankara and Washington, uses northern Iraq as a
springboard for attacks on Turkish territory and
enjoys unrestricted movement in the Kurdish-run
region where it easily obtains weapons and
explosives.
Ankara, Tan said, wants to increase cooperation with
both Washington and Baghdad against the PKK, which
has notably stepped up violence in Turkey over the
past year.
The United States has warned Turkey against
unilateral cross-border action, urging its NATO ally
to seek coordinated efforts against the PKK with
Washington and Baghdad.
Thousands of PKK militants have moved to northern
Iraq since 1999, when the group declared a
unilateral ceasefire after the capture of its leader
Abdullah Ocalan, now serving a life sentence for
treason.
The truce was called off in June 2004 and at least
94 PKK rebels and 58 members of the security forces
have been killed this year, according to an AFP
count.
Kurdish militants have also claimed responsibility
for 11 bomb attacks in urban centres across Turkey
this year, in which nine people were killed and
nearly 140 injured.
The Kurdish conflict in Turkey has claimed more than
37,000 lives since 1984, when the PKK took up arms
for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast.
AFP
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 