TURKEY: Turks remain supportive of a military incursion into northern Iraq, reax latest
Record ID:
783722
TURKEY: Turks remain supportive of a military incursion into northern Iraq, reax latest
- Title: TURKEY: Turks remain supportive of a military incursion into northern Iraq, reax latest
- Date: 25th February 2008
- Summary: (W2) CIZRE, TURKEY (FEBRUARY 25, 2008) (REUTERS) COW, STREET SCENE IN BORDER TOWN OF CIZRE (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) CIZRE RESIDENT ORHAN SIKH SAYING: "No one can work here because of terror. We want terror to stop and maybe the war will stop now."
- Embargoed: 11th March 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
- Reuters ID: LVA8OI712KZ6C17V5K9LMYT7QGLB
- Story Text: Troops scoured the roads near the Turkish-Iraqi border for mines on Monday (February 25), five days after crossing the mountainous border in a campaign Turkey's allies hope will be short and limited.
Turkish troops engaged Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) rebels in close combat on Sunday (February 24), that left scores dead in a major ground offensive into northern Iraq.
Iraq's government said NATO member Turkey should withdraw its troops as soon as possible and urged Ankara to sit down with Baghdad for talks to resolve the crisis over the PKK.
The rebels said on Sunday they had shot down a Turkish Cobra attack helicopter. Baghdad and Washington fear the offensive could further destabilise Iraq.
Ankara launched the cross-border attack on Thursday after months of aerial bombardment of suspected PKK targets in the remote, mountainous region.
It accuses rebels of using northern Iraq as a base to stage deadly attacks inside Turkey.
Turkey's General Staff said 33 PKK rebels, including a leader, and eight soldiers died in heavy, close combat in poor weather conditions on Sunday. It said at least 112 rebels and 15 soldiers have died since the operation began.
The PKK, which has been battling for decades to create a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey, disputed the figures. It said 47 Turkish troops and two rebels had been killed since Thursday.
Turkey's government and military have come under heavy domestic pressure to crush the PKK after a series of deadly attacks on their troops late last year.
In Ankara residents are seem to be united in favour of the operation.
"We cannot leave this country to looters and pillagers. We got this country by spilling blood. If necessary we can shed our blood for the sake of this country," said Naci Ozturk, as he was buying his morning newspaper.
"Well this is a belated operation. They (military) should eliminate the PKK in the shortest time possible," added another Ankara resident Huseyin Unal, on his way to work.
The pro-incursion mood was reflected in the morning newspaper headlines.
Hurriyet broadsheet led with "Special Forces Hunt PKK Leaders" whilst Milliyet read "PKK Running, Do Not Protect"
after the pro-PKK Firat news agency, quoted a top PKK commander in Iraq as urging Kurds in Turkish cities to join the fight against the Turkish state.
In the predominantly Kurdish southern town of Cizre residents said they wanted the years of violence to end.
"No one can work here because of terror. We want terror to stop and maybe the war will stop now," said 17 year-old Orhan Sikh who works with his father at a grocery store.
A senior military source told Reuters two brigades made up of 8,000 troops are taking part in the offensive. Turkish media have put the troop numbers at 10,000 but a senior officer with U.S.-led coalition forces in Baghdad said they were under 1,000.
Washington is sharing intelligence with NATO ally Turkey on PKK movements in Iraq but has urged Ankara to limit the campaign to precise rebel targets and to bring it to a swift conclusion.
Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle in 1984 for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey. Turkish military operations in northern Iraq in the 1990s failed to wipe out the guerrillas. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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