> >STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG >WIRE:04/01/2000 09:57:00 ET >Turk army fights Kurd rebels in north Iraq TUNCELI, Turkey, April 1 >(Reuters) - About 5,000-7,000 Turkish troops backed by helicopter >gunships crossed into northern Iraq early on Saturday to battle Kurdish >rebels who had been moving up to the Turkish frontier, a military >source said. The source, based in the southeastern town of Tunceli, >said the Turkish troops pushed 10 km (six miles) into northern Iraq, > covered by U.S.-made Cobra helicopters, and clashes occurred in > several areas. He gave no details. >"It is observed that many PKK (Kurdish rebel) groups have been moving >towards the Turkish border. Hence, security forces launched the >operation this morning," he said. >In parallel to the cross-border operation, a regular feature of >Turkish military operations for several years but the first such >assault this spring, some 10,000 Turkish troops began sweeping >mountains near the towns of Tunceli and Bingol. Guerrilla Kurdistan >Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, held in an island prison >near Istanbul, called on his forces after his trial and death >sentence last year to observe a unilateral ceasefire and withdraw >from Turkish territory. The call, however, coincided with the onset >of winter when PKK guerrillas would in any case pull back to >hideouts. >Copyright ©2000 ABC News Internet Ventures. > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >______________________________________________________________________ >Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
