Barzani Says Turkish forces shell Southern
Kurdistan
ARBIL, (Southern Kurdistan), June 3 (Reuters) - Turkish forces shelled a
mountain stronghold of Turkish Kurd rebels in northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan)
on Sunday, a day after Iraq's prime minister urged Turkey to use diplomacy to
defuse rising tensions in the region.
While residents say Turkey shells the area almost daily, the latest attack comes
days after Turkey moved tanks to its border and speculation mounted that Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government is planning a military incursion.
The Turkish shelling targeted Haji Umran, a mountainous area which fighters of
Turkey's separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) use as a springboard to carry
out attacks in Turkey.
Residents told Reuters the attack lasted about 30 minutes and caused no
casualties.
"There were some strikes from Turkish forces on areas next to the Turkish
border, but until now there has been no Turkish military invasion of Kurdish
lands in Iraq," Masoud Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan region, told a
news conference.
Turkish military officials declined to comment on the strikes.
Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd, told the same briefing that "we
do not accept interference in others' affairs and we do not accept interference
in our affairs".
On Saturday, Maliki said Turkey should not resort to "threats, forces and
weapons" as this would only worsen the situation. He made no reference to
Turkey's repeated request for U.S. and Iraqi troops to hunt down the rebels.
Kurdistan, a mostly stable region that comprises three of Iraq's 18 provinces,
is largely outside the control of Maliki's government in Baghdad and runs its
own affairs.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a trip to Asia, echoed Maliki's
comments, urging Turkey not to undertake "unilateral military action".
Erdogan has said he sees eye to eye with the military over the need for possible
military action in Southern Kurdistan.
