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Turks, Kurds in Tense Standoff at Iraqi Border

Both sides want US support in dispute over separatist insurgents

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 8, 2007 6:42 AM CDT
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(Newser) – As the Turkish military continued its aggressive saber-rattling along the border with Iraq this week, the US finds itself in a tough spot. The Turks want a green light to go after Kurdish separatist guerrillas hiding in northern Iraq; the Kurds want protection. “Now the U.S. has to choose,” a Turkish official tells the New York Times, “Turkish people or Kurdish people.”

 

The choice is particularly unpalatable: The Kurds are America's most consistent allies in  Iraq, and the region is the most stable in a country awash with violence. But Turkey allows the US to use a strategically important airbase. The conflict is inflamed by stepped-up attacks from militants operating near the border: 30 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the last two months.

A Kurdish youth holds a PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) flag.
A Kurdish youth holds a PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) flag.   (Getty Images (by Event))
PKK guerillas patrol through a mountain pass.
PKK guerillas patrol through a mountain pass.   (Getty Images)
PKK guerillas pause during a patrol.
PKK guerillas pause during a patrol.   (Getty Images)
A PKK guerilla.
A PKK guerilla.   (Getty Images)
A guerrilla Sitting in front of a PKK flag.
A guerrilla Sitting in front of a PKK flag.   (Getty Images)
A Turkish man carrying a national flag chants slogans during the funeral ceremony of Turkish soldier Emrah Kayadelen in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, June 6, 2007. In one of the bloodiest attacks this year, Kurdish rebels raided Monday a military outpost in Tunceli province in southeastern Turkey, killing seven Turkish troops...
A Turkish man carrying a national flag chants slogans during the funeral ceremony of Turkish soldier Emrah Kayadelen in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, June 6, 2007. In one of the bloodiest attacks this...   (Associated Press)
Unidentified relatives mourn over the coffin of Turkish soldier Emrah Kayadelen during his funeral ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, June 6, 2007. In one of the bloodiest attacks this year, Kurdish rebels raided Monday a military outpost in Tunceli province in southeastern Turkey, killing seven Turkish troops and wounding seven...
Unidentified relatives mourn over the coffin of Turkish soldier Emrah Kayadelen during his funeral ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, June 6, 2007. In one of the bloodiest attacks this year, Kurdish...   (Associated Press)
Motorized guns stand at the train station in southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir are seen, Tuesday, May 29, 2007. Turkey on Wednesday sent a large contingents of soldiers, tanks and armored personnel carriers to reinforce its border with Iraq amid a heated debate over whether to stage a cross-border offensive...
Motorized guns stand at the train station in southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir are seen, Tuesday, May 29, 2007. Turkey on Wednesday sent a large contingents of soldiers, tanks and armored personnel...   (Associated Press)
Turkish army officers salute as soldiers carry the flag-covered coffin of Bulent Yollu, one of ten soldiers killed in clashes with rebels of the Kurdistan Workers's Party, or PKK, in southeast Turkey over the weekend, at the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara, Tuesday, April 10, 2007.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
Turkish army officers salute as soldiers carry the flag-covered coffin of Bulent Yollu, one of ten soldiers killed in clashes with rebels of the Kurdistan Workers's Party, or PKK, in southeast Turkey...   (Associated Press)
A Turk waves a national flag as he holds a placard that reads The country first, not the palace, referring the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's alleged ambitions to become Turkey's next president, during a funeral service at the Kocatepe Mosque for Bulent Yollu, one of ten soldiers killed in...
A Turk waves a national flag as he holds a placard that reads "The country first, not the palace," referring the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's alleged ambitions to become Turkey's next president,...   (Associated Press)
Turkish soldiers take part in a military exercise.
Turkish soldiers take part in a military exercise.   (Getty Images)
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Turkey • Washington DC • Kurdistan • Ankara • Kurds • guerrilla

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