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Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds flee homes as
Turkish forces battle Kurdish fighters
21.6.2007
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June
21, 2007
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan region (Iraq), --
21 June ,-- Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds have been forced
to flee their homes after up to 30,000 Turkish
soldiers massed on the Iraqi Kurdistan--Turkish
border and launched attacks against Kurdish
fighters, Iraqi Kurdistan order police say.
Local aid agencies said Kurdish fighters had
prevented them from entering the villages, which
were being targeted.
"The bombardments have forced hundreds to abandon
their homes and leave for safer areas. Some houses
were looted by Kurdish fighters, according to
witnesses in the area," said Rastgo Muhammad Barsaz,
spokesman for the non- governmental organisation
Kurdistan Campaign to Help Victims of War.
"Dashati Takhe village, on the border near Zakho, is
one of the most affected areas. We have been
informed of civilian causalities but we don't know
how many, as we are being denied access to the area.
But by telephone, civilians have told us they are
short of food and water," Barsaz said.
Fear of Turkish invasion
In response to recent attacks, including a bombing
in Ankara in May that killed eight people, Turkey
expanded its force along the border, deploying
additional artillery and dozens of tanks. Iraqi
Kurdistan border police say Turkey has 20,000-30,000
soldiers along its border with Iraq, and has set up
a special security zone that restricts movement in
the area.
Iraqi Kurdish villagers living near the Turkish
border fear a Turkish invasion similar to that of
1997, when large numbers of Turkish forces crossed
the border to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),
which wants an independent Kurdistan carved out of
northern Iraq as well as parts of Iran and Turkey.
Turkey says the PKK is using mountain hideouts and
friendly villages in northern Iraq to train and
re-supply its fighters who operate mainly in Turkey.
Taking refuge
"The last time [Turkey invaded] hundreds of innocent
people died and we hope that won't happen again.
This time, we had to flee our house and are taking
refuge with some relatives near Zakho, but we cannot
stay there long. We really don't know what to do as
we've left everything behind. We're scared that our
home will be destroyed, as has happened to some of
our neighbours," said Ezdin Destan, 47, a resident
of Dashati village, near the Turkish border.
"In some neighbouring villages, Kurdish rebels have
entered homes and forced families to leave so they
can use their homes as bases from which to launch
attacks and for training… One of my relatives was
killed last week because he refused to leave his
house," Destan said.
Massoud Barzani
The Kurdish authorities see the Turkish attacks as
an offensive against the Kurdish people.
"Turkey has a problem with
the existence of Kurds," Massoud Barzani,
president of the Kurdistan regional government in
Iraq, told reporters on 13 June. "We have always
advocated good neighbourliness on the basis of
mutual interests and non-intervention. Nonetheless,
we do not accept violations and threats."
Local aid agencies have called on security forces on
both sides to allow safe passage for the delivery of
supplies to villagers, and have called for more
assistance to be given to displaced families in
Zakho, Erbil and Dohuk.
"We call on the authorities to prevent tension and
more suffering for innocent civilians, and we hope
urgent diplomatic negotiations can avoid further
terror," Barsaz said.
On 19 June the US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice said at a press conference in Washington, that
the US and Iraqi governments were both opposed to
Kurdish rebels using Iraqi territory for "terrorist"
actions against neighbouring
Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in
a press conference last week that his country should
focus on the large number of militants operating in
Turkey before seeking them out in Iraq, but that the
problem should be tackled from both sides.
irinnews org
** The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan ( Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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