EuroNews, France
Oct 13 2007
Ankara urged to show restraint over militants in Iraq
The US Secretary of State has appealed to Turkey to refrain from any
major military operation in northern Iraq against Kurdish rebels.
This as two senior American officials flew into Ankara to try to
defuse tension after a congressional resolution labelled as genocide
the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.
Undersecretary of State for Defence Eric Edelman outlined their
message: "(We are going) to talk to our colleagues in the Turkish
government … first of all to express our regret over the House and
Foreign Affairs Committee vote on HR106, and our determination, as an
administration, to continue to oppose this bill in the congress."
The Turkish government is to seek approval from parliament next week
for an operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in
Iraq.
There have already been reports of fighting between Turkish troops
and rebels in mountains in the Turkish province of Sirnak. In the
same province, a Turkish soldier was reported to have died in a mine
explosion near the border with Iraq. The Turkish army says PKK
fighters are now moving further inside Turkey.