TURKEY: TURKISH MILITARY SAY THEY WILL RESPOND TO ANY KURDISH ATTACKS ON THEIR TROOPS IN IRAQ.

Record ID: 649269

  • Title: TURKEY: TURKISH MILITARY SAY THEY WILL RESPOND TO ANY KURDISH ATTACKS ON THEIR TROOPS IN IRAQ.
  • Date: 13th October 2003
  • Summary: (U4) ANKARA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 13, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. GV/MV: GENERAL STAFF ENTERING HALL; REPORTERS; MEETING (3 SHOTS) 0.18 2. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) LIEUTENANT GENERAL METIN YAVUZYALCIN SAYING: "An investigation delegation will be sent to the area and with the information gathered from there, the force nature and the organizational structure will be cleared. At this point it is not true as it is mentioned in the media to send 30,000 to 40,000 or 3,000 to 4,000 for that matter. It is still too early to give a definite figure related to the number of troops. 0.46 3. GV/MV: VARIOUS OF THE MEETING (3 SHOTS) 1.04 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) LIEUTENANT GENERAL ILKER BASBUG, SECOND IN COMMAND AT THE MILITARY GENERAL STAFF, SAYING: "If the Kurdish groups in the region attack our convoys that will pass through Northern Iraq, they will get the necessary reply, it is their problem. I can clearly say to you that it will not be a matter that will affect our decision or our operation. This is their problem and let us leave this problem to them, they are the ones who should think about it. If such thing happens, Turkish armed forces has the capacity to protect its convoys and operations there. Do not worry about it. They will get the necessary reply in such a case." 1.49 5. GV: REPORTERS 1.55 6. GV/CU: OUTSIDE THE GENERAL STAFF BUILDING, SOLDIERS ON GUARD, SIGN OF BUILDING (3 SHOTS) 2.07 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 28th October 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Reuters ID: LVA2QKE4LDLGAIKY0AW3O6L19OYT
  • Story Text: Turkish military says it will respond to any
    Kurd attack on its troops in Iraq.



    The Turkish military said on Monday (October 13) it
    had not yet agreed with NATO ally the United States on how
    many troops to send to Iraq to help improve security there,
    and where in the war-torn country they might be deployed.

    The U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and several
    countries neighbouring Iraq are opposed to the deployment
    of Turkish soldiers, sanctioned by Turkey's parliament last
    week.

    The United States is struggling to restore peace and
    stability to Iraq after ousting Saddam Hussein and failing
    to obtain U.N. approval for an international force to help
    police the country.

    Lieutenant General Metin Yavuzyalcin, head of military
    operations, told reporters at a rare news conference at the
    military General Staff: "An investigation delegation will
    be sent to the area and with the information gathered from
    there, the nature of the force and the organizational
    structure will be cleared. At this point it is not true as
    it is mentioned in the media to send 30,000 to 40,000 or
    3,000 to 4,000. It is still too early to give a definite
    figure related to the number of troops."
    Turkey has told the United States it would prefer to
    station its troops around Salahaddin, north of Baghdad, or
    to a region west of the capital.

    Ankara and the U.S.-led coalition have agreed in
    principle to deploy at least a division of soldiers under
    Turkish command.

    Members of the Governing Council have voiced strong
    opposition to deploying Turkish troops north of Baghdad
    fearing that would raise tensions between Turkey and Iraqi
    Kurds administering northern Iraq.

    A senior Turkish general said on Monday Turkish troops
    deployed to help secure Iraq would respond if they come
    under attack by Iraqi Kurds who oppose their presence there.

    The remarks could stoke tensions with U.S.-appointed
    Iraqi leaders on the Governing Council who oppose Turkeys
    agreement with the United States to send troops to
    neighbouring Iraq.

    Lieutenant General Ilker Basbug, the second in command
    at the military General Staff added: "If the Kurdish groups
    in the region attack our convoys that will pass through
    Northern Iraq, they will get the necessary reply, it is
    their problem. I can clearly say to you that it will not be
    a matter that will affect our decision or our operation.

    This is their problem and let us leave this problem to
    them. They are the ones who should worry about it. If such
    thing happens Turkish armed forces has the capacity to
    protect its convoys and operations there. Do not worry
    about it. They will get the necessary reply in such a
    case,"
    Kurds in Iraqs north, where Turkey has for years
    maintained forces to pursue Kurdish separatists, say they
    do not want the Turks to serve near their enclave.

    Turkish officials, set to resume talks with U.S.

    officials on the deployment shortly, says the U.S.-led
    administration in Iraq has the last word on whether Turkey
    can send troops.

    Turkey considers northern Iraq part of its sphere of
    influence and has in the past threatened to prevent any
    Kurdish attempts at solidifying their autonomy from Baghdad
    gained in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War.

    Ankara says any moves by Iraqi Kurds for independence
    in northern Iraq could stir up trouble in its own
    mainly-Kurdish southeast, the scene of a decades-long war
    between the Turkish military and Turkish Kurdish rebels.

    Turkey has stationed thousands of its troops just
    inside the border with northern Iraq since the late 1990s
    in a controversial deployment it says is needed to stop
    hundreds of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels holed up
    in the mountains there from returning to Turk

  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register