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Turkish warplanes bomb PKK rebels targets
in Iraqi Kurdistan 15.1.2008
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January 15, 2008
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq', --
Turkish warplanes attacked Turkey's Kurdish PKK
guerrilla targets in Kurdistan region 'northern
Iraq' on Tuesday, Turkey's General Staff said, but
there were no reports of casualties or serious
damage.
The latest strike follows a series of cross-border
raids on Turkey's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
positions in the mountainous of Kurdistan region in
December. Troops have also made small-scale raids
across the border with the aim of crushing the rebel
group.
Confirming an earlier report from an Iraqi Kurdistan
official, the General Staff said on its official Web
site that its planes "effectively struck" targets in
the regions of Zap-Sivi, Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk.
"Our planes returned to their bases safely after
successfully completing their duties," the statement
said. |
Turkish warplanes bomb PKK rebels targets in Iraqi
Kurdistan on Tuesday |
Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for the Peshmerga security
forces of Iraqi Kurdistan,www.ekurd.net
said Turkish artillery
began shelling around the town of Amadiya in Duhok
province just before midday (0900 GMT).
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said the villages in Amadiya, 70 kilometres east of
the Kurdish city of Duhok, have been deserted since
their population fled the area with the launch of
Turkish military operations against rebels from the
Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
In Istanbul, the Turkish general staff described the
air attacks on suspected PKK positions in three
different areas as being successful.
Turkey says 3,000 PKK rebels are based in Kurdistan
'northern Iraq' mountains, from where they launch
raids on Turkish targets.
A Reuters reporter in Turkey's southeastern city of
Diyarbakir earlier said two Turkish F-16 warplanes
had been seen flying over the border province of
Hakkari heading towards Iraq.
Four Turkish tanks had also been seen crossing the
same province towards the Iraqi Kurdistan border,
where Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops.
Iraqi Kurdistan politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group as an
excuse to invade Kurdistan region 'Iraq' to prevent
the establishment of Kurdistan state in the Kurdish
autonomous region in 'northern Iraq',www.ekurd.net
Turkey fears this could
fan separatism among its own large Kurdish
population in southeast Turkey.
The shelling was the latest reported cross-border
attacks by Turkey since two other areas in Duhok
were shelled on Jan. 11, again without causing
significant damage or injury.
On Jan. 3, a bomb attack blamed on Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) guerrillas killed six people in Turkey's
Diyarbakir.
Since 1984 the PKK
took up arms for self-rule in the country's mainly
Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
A
large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas, the party also demanded
an end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, granting them full
political freedoms.
The PKK, listed as a "terrorist" group by Ankara, US
and EU.
Turkey's parliament approved a resolution in October
giving the legal basis for operations over one year.
Turkey claims the
right under international law to carry out
cross-border attacks.
Reuters | DPA | AFP
**
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.
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.
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, a
large Turkey's Kurdish community 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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