PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkish cabinet approved military operation in Iraq
01.12.2007 14:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s cabinet has voted to allow the army to
enter Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels, Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has announced. He gave no indication as to whether the
decision meant that a military operation was now imminent. Mr Erdogan
says Turkey needs to be able to respond to a recent rise in bomb
attacks blamed on PKK rebels from Iraq.

In October, the Turkish parliament voted overwhelmingly to allow
military operations to go ahead.

Speaking on Turkish television, Mr Erdogan said "Turkish armed forces
are now authorized for a cross-border operation." His cabinet had
approved the decision in a meeting on November 28, he said.

Turkey has amassed some 100,000 troops on its border with Iraq since
October 17 when Turkish MPs voted by 507 votes to 19 in favor of
military action.

Leaflets promising amnesty to PKK break offs were thrown about by
helicopters the mountains where the Kurdish rebels presumably settle.

U.S. President George W Bush held emergency talks with Mr Erdogan in
early November in an attempt to avert a large-scale Turkish incursion
into Iraq.

At the meeting, President Bush offered to share intelligence about the
PKK with the Turkish government and pledged to put pressure on the
autonomous government in Northern Iraq to crack down on the rebels.

Kurdish rebels have killed dozens of Turkish soldiers and civilians in
the past few month.

The PKK – which is treated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the
EU and U.S. – has waged a violent campaign for Kurdish autonomy since
1984, resulting in more than 30,000 deaths, BBC reports.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress