Turkey denies push into northern Iraq
Iraq, Military, 2/10/1998

The Turkish army on Monday denied news that it sent thousands of Turkish troops into Northern Iraq, whereas eye-witnesses said that around 7,000 commandos, backed by armored vehicles, crossed the border area into Iraq at al-Khabour border point.

Turkish military spokesman Col. Hosni Dagh said "not one soldier from our army has crossed the border," but Turkish security sources said that the soldiers entered Iraq to set up camps in Kurdish towns to accommodate a probable influx of refugees should a US military strike hit Iraq.

The spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Najati Otcan, denied such news saying, "No such move has taken place yet." But Otcan announced a decrease in numbers of Turkish diplomats in Baghdad due to the current crisis adding, "It is natural in similar circumstances to reduce the number of embassy staff. We will continue with a mini team."

Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities prevented journalists from crossing into al-Jazira town, which is 50 km. from the Turkish border on al-Khabour river as well as from crossing into Northern Iraq.

On Saturday, Turkish dailies said in case the US uses force against Iraq, the Turkish Cabinet would then have a plan to establish an isolation zone at a depth of 15 km inside northern Iraq to prevent a flow of refugees into Turkey. The Turkish ATF television station on Monday said that more than 5,000 Turkish soldiers entered on Sunday into Northern Iraq in the areas of Oldeiri in Sernak district and in Nshourkoka in Hakari district on the borders with Iraq.

To this end, the governor of Deyar Bakr, who is responsible for coordinating operations against the Kurdish Labor Party, Ayadin Arsalan said these reports are groundless.

Previous Stories:
  UAE stress diplomacy to solve Iraqi crisis   (2/10/1998)
  The failure of US foreign policy in Iraq   (2/10/1998)

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