1 000s of troops hunt PKK rebels
2008-02-23 09:07
Ankara - Thousands of Turkish troops have
crossed into northern Iraq to hunt Kurdish rebels, television
and a military source said on Friday, escalating a conflict that
could undermine stability in the region.
Turkey's military said the cross-border offensive, possibly
the largest in a decade, would continue until they had stopped
the threat from PKK rebels, who have been using northern Iraq as
a base to stage attacks in Turkey.
It said in a statement 24 PKK rebels and five soldiers were
killed in clashes in Iraq.
It also said at least 20 rebels were
killed in separate aerial attacks.
The United States urged Turkey, a key regional ally, to
limit its offensive to precise PKK targets and to bring the
operation to a swift conclusion.
Iraq's government called on
Turkey to respect its sovereignty and to avoid any military
action which would threaten security.
The European Union and the United Nations also urged
restraint, fearing the offensive could jeopardise the most
stable region in Iraq at a time when security is improving, and
also rekindle tensions between Turks and ethnic Kurds.
Battle for Kurdish homeland
The Turkish military said its troops had entered Iraq late
on Thursday to destroy PKK camps and hunt rebels of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been battling for
decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey.
"The operations inside Iraq will intensify tomorrow," said a
Turkish military source, who declined to be named.
Turkish television said between 3 000 and 10 000 soldiers
had entered Iraq, but several Iraqi officials and a military
source with US-led coalition forces in Baghdad said only a few
hundred troops were involved.
The senior Turkish military source said two brigades made up
of around 8 000 troops had taken part in the offensive.
"The Turkish Armed Forces, which attach great importance to
Iraq's territorial integrity and stability, will return home in
the shortest time possible after its goals have been achieved,"
the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.
It did give the size or length of the surprise operation,
given the poor weather conditions.
Pressure
Turkey's government and military have come under domestic
pressure to crush the PKK after a series of deadly attacks on
their troops late last year.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40 000 people
since it began its armed struggle in 1984.
Washington and the
EU, like Turkey, classify the PKK as a terrorist organisation.
Turkey says it has the right under international law to hit
the PKK in Iraq.
Turkey says some 3 000 rebels are based there.
Turkey's military has been bombing PKK positions in northern
Iraq since securing parliament's authorisation to carry out
cross-border operations in October.
"I sincerely believe that this operation will contribute to
Iraq's stability and peace in the region," Turkish President
Abdullah Gul said in a statement on Friday.
Turkey appeared to be seeking to deal the PKK a crushing
blow before weather conditions improve and rebels are more
easily able to cross the mountains back into Turkish territory.
The Iraqi Red Crescent (IRC) said four bridges had been
destroyed and 11 families, fewer than 100 people, had been
displaced from two villages about 1-2 km inside
the border.
Calls for diplomatic solution
"The civilians are scared because they don't know how far
the Turkish army is going to enter into Iraq," IRC President
Said Hakki told Reuters.
The central Baghdad government, which has little sway over
mainly Kurdish northern Iraq, has repeatedly called for a
diplomatic solution to the PKK presence.
Referring to what he said were Turkish forces targeting a
number of bridges, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told
Al Arabiya television: "... it is not Turkey's right to create
instability and hit targets other than the PKK. This is what
makes the situation dangerous ... and we fear military errors
that may have harmful consequences for all sides."
Turkey launched several major land offensives in the 1990s
into northern Iraq against the separatist movement and has since
kept small contingents of troops at several bases there.
"Militarily, even 50 000 troops in the 1990s were not able
to destroy the PKK, but psychologically this operation could be
quite effective.
It has taken the PKK by surprise," said Gareth
Jenkins, an Istanbul-based expert on Turkish security issues.