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If Turks Cross Border, It's War: Kurdish Prez

Says Turkiey is trying to undermine Kurdish prosperity in Iraq

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2007 9:07 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Kurdish President Massoud Barzani has warned the Turkish government that any move into his territory will be considered a declaration of war. The warning came yesterday as Turkish troops attacked separatist PKK guerrillas inside Turkey, killing 20, reports the London Times. Turkish officials have charged that the largely autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq is harboring the militants.

Barzani accused Ankara of using its grievances with the PKK as an excuse to challenge the growing prosperity and independence of Iraqi Kurds. “If they invade or if there is any incursion, it means war,” said Barzani. "If they take a peaceful approach, then we are ready to help as much as we can." Turkey is making preparations to invade Iraq to attack militants hiding there, despite protests from Iraq and the US.

Turks wave national flags with a banner that reads We are all soldiers, we want the head of (Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud) Barzani! during the funeral of Vedat Kutluca, one of 12 soldiers killed by Kurdish rebels at the Turkey-Iraq border Sunday, in Keskin, some 100 kilometers 62 miles) east...
Turks wave national flags with a banner that reads" We are all soldiers, we want the head of (Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud) Barzani!" during the funeral of Vedat Kutluca, one of 12 soldiers killed by...   (Associated Press)
Thousands of Kurds and supporters take to the streets in Dahuk, a Kurdish city near the border with Turkey, some 430 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007, to protest the Turkish parliament's decision to authorize the government to send troops across the border to root...
Thousands of Kurds and supporters take to the streets in Dahuk, a Kurdish city near the border with Turkey, some 430 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007, to protest...   (Associated Press)
Massoud Barzani, leader of Iraq's Kurdish region,speaks with reporters during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (not seen) in the city of Irbil, 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007. Barzani warned Turkey further incursions into Kurdish territory would be...
Massoud Barzani, leader of Iraq's Kurdish region,speaks with reporters during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (not seen) in the city of Irbil, 350 kilometers (217 miles) north...   (Associated Press)
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Looming War

Kurdish rebels defy Turks
New York Times

Hope fades for peaceful solution
Guardian (UK)

Barzani rejects call for extradition of guerrillas
Today's Zaman

 
Iraq • Turkey • Kurdistan • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • PKK • Kurdistan Workers' Party • Massoud Barzani • Iraq war

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