Turkish helicopters ferried more troops to the border with Iraq
on Friday as diplomatic efforts got under way in Ankara to avert a
major offensive against Kurdish guerrillas based in northern
Iraq.
Kurdish village guards patrol in the
southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak October 26,
2007.?[Agencies]
State-run Anatolian news agency said Cobra helicopters and
fighter jets had also pounded PKK shelters discovered after
reconnaissance missions along the border and inside Turkey, which
has NATO's second biggest army.
Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops along the mountainous
border before a possible cross-border operation to crush about
3,000 guerrillas of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who
launch deadly attacks into Turkey from northern Iraq.
Iraqi, Turkish and US diplomats have stepped up efforts to avert
a large-scale Turkish incursion but Turkey's prime minister and
president have repeatedly said their country would not tolerate any
more PKK attacks from Iraq.
"We are moving more troops from other provinces to Sirnak
province," a military source, who declined to be named, told
Reuters in southeast Turkey. Turkey's military has boosted troop
levels mainly in Hakkari and Sirnak provinces bordering Iraq.
Security sources told Reuters 10 Sikorsky helicopters, carrying
troops and military equipment, took off from Yusekova town in
Hakkari province and headed for Daglica region near the Iraq
border.
An Iraqi delegation began talks with Turkish civilian and
military officials on Friday in Ankara.
Iraqi Defense Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim, heading the
delegation, told reporters on arrival on Thursday that they had
come with concrete proposals.
He declined to give further details.
"For the Iraqis those proposals may be concrete and strong but
for us some of the proposals may be weak because our perspective
differs, so we are now having internal consultations," a Turkish
official, who declined to be named, told Reuters, adding that these
talks were ongoing parallel to bilateral talks.
An Iraqi defense ministry spokesman told reporters that
"everything is on course" in the talks which he described as
"positive." He said there was agreement on some matters and more
clarity was expected after another meeting later on Friday.
Ankara, which wants US and Iraqi authorities to shut down PKK
camps and hand over rebel leaders, is skeptical about Baghdad's
ability to crack down on the PKK in northern Iraq, a mainly Kurdish
region where central government has little clout.
Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani has infuriated Turkey by
refusing to act against the PKK. He has said his peshmerga fighters
will resist any Turkish incursion.
US troops are largely absent from northern Iraq.
The United States is keen to avert a large-scale Turkish
offensive in northern Iraq, fearing it would destabilize not only
the most peaceful part of that country but potentially also the
region as a whole.
"... I hope that peaceful actions can be taken and not military
actions which would only create very strong instability," U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Italian newspaper La Stampa in
comments published on Friday.
Public pressure on Turkish authorities to act has grown since
rebels killed some 40 soldiers over the last month. The PKK,
branded a terrorist organization by the United States and the
European Union as well as Turkey, has said it captured eight
soldiers.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to visit Turkey for
talks on November 2, while Erdogan is expected to meet President
George W. Bush in Washington on November 5.
(China Daily via Agencies October 27, 2007)
