Iraqis fleeing Turkish shelling, migration group claims

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=123259

Iraqis fleeing Turkish shelling, migration group claims
Thousands of Iraqis who sought refuge in the relatively safe north of the country are now fleeing cross-border shelling by Turkish forces, the International Organization for Migration said Wednesday.

Artillery bombardment of border areas by the Turkish army has also hampered the work of IOM’s staff in the region, an official with the group said. “A couple of thousand (uprooted Iraqis) have been displaced due to this bombing,” Dana Graber Ladek told reporters in Geneva, noting that many of those affected had already fled violence in other parts of Iraq. “The places where this is happening tend to be less populated, but certainly those who are anywhere near the area are moving out for fear they might be targeted.”
The Turkish shelling, which has occurred in recent weeks in the northern districts of Dahuk and Erbil, is aimed at sending a message to the Kurdish regional government not to support the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) operating on both sides of the border, Graber Ladek said. Artillery fire by Iranian forces at positions of PJAK, an Iranian wing of the PKK, in Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah province has not affected IOM’s work, she said.

Turkey has repeatedly complained that the Iraqi Kurds are providing support for the PKK and warned it could launch a cross-border operation into the Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq to hit the PKK bases if the US and Iraqi authorities do not take action. But Turkish authorities have so far declined to confirm any report on shelling northern Iraq. There was no immediate Turkish comment yesterday on the IOM claim.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7014800.stm
Turkey, Iraq in 'Kurd rebel deal'

PKK has been labelled a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU
Turkey and Iraq have agreed on a deal to allow Turkish forces to cross into Iraq to pursue Kurdish rebels, media reports say.
A security accord would be signed on Thursday, an Iraqi official confirmed.

Turkey has warned Iraq to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) within its borders or face a possible incursion by Turkish troops.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the insurgency, including at least 80 Turkish troops this year.

'Hot pursuit'

A deal was hammered out in talks between Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Bolani and his Turkish counterpart Besir Atalay in the Turkish capital, Ankara.