HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Ha

[newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl]

From: newsdesk_aps_nl at apsf.aps.nl (newsdesk at aps.nl)
Subject: HIrgUr MUstemleke; Sanki Fiyasko Haberler, 29/3/95, 09:00 TSI


(1) Turk Troops Seize More Kurds

ZAKHO, Iraq (AP) -- More than 1,500 villagers, their belongings and even goats
packed into cars and trucks, fled Tuesday as Turkish troops attacked Kurdish
rebels along the border with northern Iraq. At least 70 rebels were reported
killed.

Growing numbers of refugees could increase Western pressure on Turkey to
abandon its assault against Turkish Kurdish rebel bases inside Iraq. The
fighting involves the section of northern Iraq controlled by Iraqi Kurds who
want independence from Baghdad. Patrolled by allied warplanes since the end of
the Gulf War, the area is beyond the reach of Iraq's military.

At least 269 rebels have died in the operation that began March 20. The
military said 17 Turkish soldiers have died. Some 35,000 troops are involved
in
the invasion to wipe out bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the
PKK.

The PKK has fought for autonomy in Turkey in a war which has killed more than
15,000 people. Turkey contends about 2,800 PKK guerrillas are based in
northern
Iraq.

In Washington, Secretary of State Warren Christopher said the international
community's support would be "promptly withdrawn" if Turkey breaks promises
"that the operation would be of limited scope and duration."

Turkey's president, Suleyman Demirel, has suggested troops could remain in
northern Iraq for up to a year. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller has said the
military will withdraw once rebel bases are destroyed. Ciller plans to meet
with President Clinton in Washington on April 18.

Fighting broke out on several fronts Tuesday. Army spokesman Col. Dogu
Silahcioglu said 62 rebels were killed in a clash in the Khakurk region near
Iran and eight others in Sindi region, six miles east of Zakho in Iraq.

Fierce fighting also was reported in the mountains northeast of Zakho. As many
as 2,000 villagers fled the fighting south along the road to Sarsang, about 48
miles east of Zakho, a U.N. guard returning from a patrol in the area told The
Associated Press.

In Zakho, 177 Turkish Kurdish refugees appealed for help from U.N. officials
on
Tuesday. Some refugees feared house-to-house searches by the Turkish military,
aid officials said.

U.N. officials were organizing convoys to escort them away from the fighting,
said U.N. spokesman Rupert Colville. Turkey staged a six-week offensive in
northern Iraq involving 20,000 troops in 1992. But the PKK regrouped right
after their withdrawal.

(2) Turks keep triple border watch at Saddam fortress

By Suna Erdem

FISHKHABUR, Iraq, March 28 (Reuter) - At a hill-top fortress overlooking the
point where Iraq meets Turkey and Syria, Turkish sharpshooters with infra-red
night sights scan the horizon for Kurdish guerrilla border infiltrators.

"This area is called the triangle. It's the entrance and exit for all the
terrorists," a Turkish special forces major said on Tuesday in reference to
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels who regularly cross the borders in all
directions.

Troops in the area killed two rebels trying to cross to Iraq from Syria the
night before. Their bodies were washed away by the Tigris River which marks
the Iraq-Syria frontier at its northern end, soldiers said.

The fortress at Fishkhabur, 40 km east of the Iraqi town of Zakho, is one of
dozens originally built by President Saddam Hussein at strategic points
throughout north Iraq to control his own restive Kurds.

Turkish forces hunting the PKK in northern Iraq positioned tanks and armoured
personnel carriers there late last week to control cross-border rebel traffic.
Troops reported frequent clashes between the Turkish army and the PKK close
to the Syrian border on Monday although it was unclear whether the rebels
were fleeing into Syria or coming into Iraq.

Armed fighters are not the only ones to skip across the border. Villagers,
unconcerned by breaching international frontiers, often cross the Tigris to
ferry back food from fellow Kurds on the other side.

"We tell the villagers we'll help them get supplies, but we tell them they
must not use the river at night," the officer told Reuters. Otherwise they
could be mistaken for guerrillas by troops squinting through their night
sights, capable of picking out targets at 10 km, he said.

The troops' attempts to block the PKK, fighting for a Kurdish state in
southeast Turkey, are watched by other forces with more than a passing
interest in the region. Another hill fortress, holding soldiers loyal to
Saddam, can clearly be seen across a green plain to the south-east. That
outpost marks one of the most northerly points of Baghdad's authority.

Saddam's government affirms sovereignty over the area now held by the Turks
and Iraqi Kurdish guerrillas and has termed the Turkish offensive as
"interference." Syria has made no comment on the Turkish push.

(3) Kurds Rally In Geneva

GENEVA (AP) -- Protesting attacks by Turkey's military, about 200 angry Kurds
forced their way into the U.N. European headquarters Tuesday before police
used
tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. One policeman was injured.

The protesters, including women and children, agreed to leave after human
rights officials met with a Kurdish delegation. U.N. guards called in Swiss
police after protesters surged through the main gates.

Turkish soldiers invaded into northern Iraq on March 20 to wipe out bases of
the rebel Kurdish Workers Party, known as the PKK. The demonstrators in Geneva
claimed Turkish troops have killed hundreds of civilians. "This atrocity is
taking place before the eyes of the United Nations," said a statement issued
by the demonstrators. "The noise of Turkish warplanes, the bombs they are
dropping and the cries of the defenseless seem to have deafened U.N. members
who either support or passively observe this massacre."

The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey in a war which left more than
15,000 dead.