Turkey wraps up Iraq offensive, says objectives achieved
The Turkish army ended its week-old ground offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq on Friday, saying its forces had pulled out after achieving their objectives.
The withdrawal followed US pressure on its NATO ally to quickly wrap up the incursion, launched on February 21 against bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The army said the offensive had dealt a serious blow to the rebel group, with at least 240 militants killed and dozens of hideouts, training camps and ammunition depots destroyed.
The United States said the incursion was "targeted and relatively short" and reasserted its support for Turkey against the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community.
"There is one thing that remains clear, and that is the United States, Turkey, and Iraq all will continue to view the PKK as a terrorist organization that needs to be dealt with," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said after the Turkish withdrawal.
President George W. Bush had urged Turkey on Thursday to pull out "as quickly as possible" and Defence Secretary Robert Gates personally put pressure on Turkish leaders during talks in Ankara.
The Turkish military said the offensive, which included ground assaults and air raids, targeted rebel positions in and around Zap, a mountainous snow-bound region near the Turkish border, where a major PKK base and training camp is located.
"Undoubtedly, an operation conducted in a single region cannot finish off the terrorist organisation for good. But they were shown that northern Iraq is not a safe region for them," a statement posted on the General Staff website said.
The Qandil mountains further to the southeast, along the Iraq-Iran border, are also a major PKK stronghold.
The army said elite commando units conducted the operation, but gave no numbers. It said it lost 27 men and gave assurances that no Iraqi civilians were harmed.
Television footage showed dozens of transport vehicles loaded with soldiers crossing into Turkey from the border town of Cukurca, while empty vehicles winded up mountain roads in the opposition direction to pick up more troops.
The PKK took up arms for self-rule in Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed more than 37,000 lives.
The United States supported its NATO ally during the incursion with near real-time intelligence on PKK movements.
But Washington was concerned that a prolonged incursion could fuel tensions between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds, who run autonomous northern Iraq, and escalate into a broader conflict.
Ankara has long accused Iraqi Kurds of providing the PKK with safe haven and weapons.
The Turkish military insisted the withdrawal decision was made "under no external or internal influence," saying some forces had already returned home before Friday, "in line with the original planning."
It warned it could resort to cross-border military action again in the future.
Turkey will continue to "closely watch" PKK activities in northern Iraq and "the struggle against terrorism will be pursued with determination at home and abroad," it said.
Ankara says an estimated 4,000 PKK rebels enjoy refuge in northern Iraq.
In October, the Turkish parliament authorised cross-border military action against the PKK for a one-year period.
Turkish warplanes conducted five bombing raids on rebel targets in northern Iraq before the ground incursion.
The PKK claimed to have killed around 100 soldiers, lost five of its own fighters and downed a Turkish attack helicopter during the incursion.
"We do not want war, we want peace. If they will give up the attacks we are ready to solve these troubles in a peaceful way," PKK spokesman Ahmed Danis told AFP Friday.
"Turkey and the whole world must respect the Kurdish will to live freely on its soil," he said.
Ankara is under pressure from Washington and at home to back up military action against the PKK with political and economic gestures to the sizeable Kurdish community and erode popular support for the rebels.
Kurdish activists have urged the government to issue a general amnesty for the PKK to encourage the militants to lay down arms.
AFP
