Iraq condemns Turkish incursion
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq on Tuesday condemned Turkey'sincursion into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish guerrillas in thestrongest terms so far and demanded an immediate end to what itcalled a violation of its sovereignty.
Thousands of Turkish troops crossed the border lastThursday to root out PKK fighters who have used mountainousnorthern Iraq as a base for their fight for self-rule in themainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey since the 1990s.
"The cabinet expressed its rejection and condemnation forthe Turkish military interference, which is considered aviolation of Iraq's sovereignty," the Iraqi government said ina statement released by spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.
"The cabinet stresses that unilateral military action isnot acceptable and threatens good relations between the twoneighbours."
Dabbagh said earlier on Tuesday that a Turkish envoy wouldmeet Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and governmentleaders including Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari in Baghdadon Wednesday.
An Iraqi government source identified the envoy as AhmetDavutoglu, a senior foreign policy adviser to Turkish PrimeMinister Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara has not confirmed this.
Turkish troops, backed by warplanes and artillery, havebeen fighting Kurdish guerrillas at close quarters as theyadvance on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases.
"Turkey is engaged in a legitimate fight against aterrorist organisation which has challenged Turkey's peace andsecurity," Erdogan told his AK Party in parliament.
"Turkey has the right to defend its unity and to fightpeople who try to harm that unity," he said, adding that Turkeyrespects Iraq's territorial integrity.
The Turkish General Staff said on Tuesday two more of itssoldiers had been killed, taking the total to 19. It says atleast 153 PKK fighters have been killed. PKK statements that 81Turkish troops have been killed could not be verified.
The General Staff said heavy snow was hampering the advanceof its troops towards PKK camps in the remote, mountainousarea.
FIGHTERS KILLED
A senior military official in the U.S.-led coalition inIraq said about 2,000 Turkish troops were operating insidenorthern Iraq. Turkish officials have put the number at around10,000.
A Turkish security source said most of the Turkish troopsinside Iraq were involved in an attack on a key PKK commandcentre in the Zap valley after taking control of the PKK'sHaftanin camp about 5 km (3 miles) inside the Iraqi border.
Fighting was concentrated on a strategic hill whichcontrols the entrance to the valley, said the source, who addedthat at least 21 PKK fighters had been killed since late onMonday.
Dabbagh earlier said Baghdad feared the military operationcould expand if peshmergas, Kurdistan's security forces, becameinvolved.
"We want to maintain good relations with Turkey," Dabbaghtold a news conference.
"Turkey has to understand the serious situation which mightdevelop as a result of a military mistake which might takeplace between the peshmergas and Turkish forces," he said.
Kurdistan's peshmergas have so far stayed on the sidelines.Iraqi Kurds have little sympathy for the PKK but there iswidespread anger at the incursion.
There have been no reports of civilian casualties, butresidents in villages near the border say they are beingtargeted in Turkish air strikes and artillery barrages.
Ankara, under growing pressure at home, launched theoperation last week after saying Iraqi authorities had failedfor years to crack down on the rebels. Turkish officials havestressed the offensive will be limited.
Baghdad has called for a diplomatic solution to the PKKproblem. It says it has taken some measures to deal with therebels but is focused on trying to stabilise the rest of Iraq.
The area, near rich oil reserves, has been one of the fewrelatively stable regions since the U.S.-led invasion to toppleSaddam Hussein in 2003.
Washington has said the incursion should be as kept asshort as possible. Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey wasreceiving intelligence cooperation from the United States.
Turkey blames the PKK, defined as a terrorist group by theUnited States and the European Union, for the deaths of nearly40,000 people since it began its armed struggle for self-rulein the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey in 1984.
(Writing by Paul Tait, additional reporting by Gareth Jonesin Ankara, editing by Tim Pearce)