Turkish Troops Cross Into Iraqi Territory

At least 1,000 Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq, apparently starting their yearly spring campaign against Kurdish rebel hide-outs there, military sources said Saturday.

Over the last three days, soldiers have gone three miles into Iraqi territory from the provinces of Hakkari and Sirnak in southeastern Turkey, sources said.

Turkey regularly crosses into northern Iraq to hunt rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, who have been fighting a 15-year war for autonomy in southeast Turkey.

As many as 50,000 troops are gathered near the Turkish-Iraqi border, ready to take part in a large-scale operation, Turkish and Kurdish sources said.

During their operations in northern Iraq, the Turkish army often maintains a 3-mile-deep buffer zone inside Iraq.

Private television NTV reported that the troops crossed into Iraq after receiving information that the rebels were reestablishing camps close to the border. No serious clashes have been reported, NTV said.

Kurdish rebels retreated to bases in northern Iraq before the winter after announcing a cease-fire and a withdrawal from Turkey. They later announced an end to armed struggle and said they are ready to surrender if Turkey grants cultural rights to the country’s 12 million Kurds.

The operation comes as Turkey is under increasing pressure from Europe to find a peaceful solution to the war and grant more rights to Kurds, who are not recognized as an official minority.

A member of the PKK’s political wing in Europe warned that a Turkish assault would lead to renewed clashes, which have been reduced to a trickle since the PKK’s withdrawal last year. He said the PKK would defend itself if attacked.

An estimated 37,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed in the war.

Iraq’s northern areas are outside Baghdad’s control, governed by two rival Iraqi Kurdish factions. One of the factions has been fighting the PKK alongside the Turkish army.