Turkey reinforces Iraq border

ISTANBUL — Turkey poured additional troops and tanks into the Iraqi border area yesterday, even as it agreed to a U.S. appeal for “a few more days” to resolve a dispute over Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq.

A Kurdish rebel spokesman located in Iraq’s northern mountains told The Washington Times by telephone that the group was about to announce a pause in its attacks on Turkish forces.

<![CDATA[<img src=”/images/videoicon.jpg” width=”12” height=”10”> VIDEO: U.S. working to stop Turkish incursion into Iraq

<![CDATA[<img src=”/images/videoicon.jpg” width=”12” height=”10”> VIDEO: Turkish soldiers patrolling Iraqi border

The spokesman, identified only by his first name, Esat, also said the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was holding a dozen Turkish soldiers captured in a raid Sunday that left a dozen other soldiers dead.

The United States and its allies are scrambling to persuade the Turks to hold off on retaliatory raids on PKK sanctuaries in Iraq, fearing a cross-border incursion could destabilize the most peaceful region in Iraq.

The Turkish parliament authorized such action last week, but Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told reporters yesterday that the vote “does not mean we have to use [the authority]. We favor finding solutions through diplomatic means.”

Press reports quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan telling Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday night that Turkey expected “speedy steps from the U.S.” in cracking down on the Kurdish rebels.

Miss Rice expressed sympathy and asked “for a few days,” to end the attacks, which have killed 30 soldiers and several civilians in the past two weeks, the reports said.

Despite the assurances, local residents reported seeing at least 50 tanks traveling southward yesterday toward the border village of Daglica, the scene of Sunday’s PKK ambush. Another 50 tanks were reported moving into Cukurca, a border town 25 miles to the west.

The Turkish army has forbidden journalists from visiting Daglica. But with news of daylong bombardments of border areas, some Turkish analysts think Turkish units have already crossed the border.

Ismet Berkan, the editor of the liberal daily Radikal, told CNN-Turk last night that “units may have gone up to [five miles] into Iraq” to cut off the estimated 150 PKK militants responsible for Sunday”s attack.

He said further incursions would aim to push PKK units back from the border toward their base camps on Kandil Mountain, 50 miles south of Turkey.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, apparently responding to U.S. pressure, told reporters the PKK would announce a cease-fire later yesterday. Mr. Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, had said on Sunday that the PKK fighters should end the violence or leave Iraq.

Speaking by telephone from the PKK”s base camp high in the Iraqi mountains, spokesman Esat confirmed there would be a press statement “either this evening or tomorrow regarding a possible cease-fire.”

He also confirmed that PKK units had captured eight Turkish soldiers, and said “they are looking after them well, and they are in good condition.”

Analysts say, however, that it will take more than a cease-fire to persuade Turkey to stay out of Iraq.

The PKK has halted hostilities several times since it went back to war in 2004. When Turkey began preparations for an invasion of Iraq earlier this year, the group declared that it had put a stop to active operations, and would act only in self-defense.

More than 70 Turkish soldiers have died since then, 30 of them in the past two weeks in two of the bloodiest clashes in more than a decade. Angered by the increasing body count, the Turkish public is pressing for action.

There were street protests in major cities yesterday after thousands of young men marched to barracks in the cities of Bursa and Kayseri on Sunday to offer their services against the PKK.

Mobs also attacked the offices of a Kurdish political party on Sunday, prompting the government and civil organizations to call for calm. Several Kurds were attacked after being accused of shouting pro-PKK slogans.

“All arms of the state are in total agreement about the decisions that need to be taken,” said hawkish government spokesman Cemil Cicek, after a Cabinet meeting yesterday. “We did not pass this motion [on cross-border operations] so that we could leave it on the shelf.”

Mr. Erdogan left Ankara for London for a two-day visit that will include talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He is due to meet with President Bush in Washington on Nov. 5.