|
Iran says 17 Kurdish PEJAK rebels killed
in northwest province
1.3.2007
|
|
|
|
March 1, 2007
TEHRAN, March 1, -- Iranian security forces
killed 17 Kurdish PEJAK rebels in the latest clashes
in West Azarbaijan province (Kurdistan-Iran) close
to the Turkish and Kurdistan region (Iraq) borders
in northwest Iran, a Revolutionary Guards commander
said
Thursday.
"Seventeen rebels who entered Iran to carry out
sabotage work have been killed," Colonel Jalil
Babazadeh of the elite force told the IRNA news
agency.
Four members of the Guards were also killed in the
clashes, including one commander, two lieutenants
and a rank-and-file member, the commander said,
without specifying when the fighting took place.
West Azarbaijan province has been the scene of a
string of deadly clashes in recent days between
Iranian security forces and rebels linked to the
Kurdish separatist group PEJAK.
Guards chief Yayha Rahim Safavi said on Wednesday
around 30 rebels had been killed by security forces
in the clashes, which have coincided with an upsurge
of unrest in the Sistan-Baluchestan province in the
southeast of Iran.
The authorities have repeatedly accused the United
States and Britain of seeking to stir unrest amongst
ethnic minorities in sensitive areas close to the
Turkish, Iraqi and Pakistani borders.
Fourteen Iranian military personnel were killed in a
helicopter crash last week during an operation
against rebels in West Azarbaijan province that the
authorities said was an accident due to bad weather.
PEJAK, took up arms for self-rule in the country's
mainly Kurdistan province northwestern of Iran. Half
the members of PEJAK are women, many of them still
in their teens.
PEJAK, a group linked to Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), claimed shooting down the
helicopter and killing 20 soldiers and senior
officers.
Safavi on Wednesday warned that the Revolutionary
Guards reserved the right to pursue Kurdish rebels
inside Iraq's frontiers if Baghdad failed to expel
them from border zones.
AFP
**
Iranian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistana Îranę or
Kurdistana Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) or Rojhilatę
Kurdistan (East of 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.
More about Iranian Kurdistan
The present leader of the organisation is Haji
Ahmadi. According to the Washington Times, half the
members of PEJAK 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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 