Turkey Tightens Control over Border with Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, April 12, 2003

Turkey Tightens Control over Border with Iraq

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Turkish forces seemed to be tightening their control over the Turkish-Iraqi border as Kurdish fighters entered the Iraqi commercial hub of Mosul on Friday, a day after they took over Kirkuk, a key oil well in northern Iraq.

Armored vehicles and tanks were patrolling the border and military helicopters flying over Silopi, a southeastern Turkish town bordering Iraq, where reporters from major local and world media were waiting for the border to open, with no idea how long it would take them.

It was reported that Turkey's top military and political leaders met in Ankara Friday to map out policies on the situation in northern Iraq, where Iraq's Kurdish groups took over major cities like Kirkuk and Mosul, believed with acquiescence from the US military.

Turkey has threatened to send troops to northern Iraq if Kurds retain control of the two major cities in northern Iraq. Kurdish leaders, on the other hand, have said they will resist any Turkishmilitary moves.

The rising tension and likely conflicts between the Turks and Kurds have been closely watched by the United States, which fears an armed clash between them would undermine the coalition war efforts in Iraq.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell assured Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Thursday that US troops would replace Kurdish fighters in Kirkuk. He also invited Turkey to send military observers to monitor the situation there.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a major Iraqi Kurdish group, said Thursday that its forces will leave Kirkuk by Friday.

Turkey has reiterated that it will not accept Kurdish control of Kirkuk or Mosul, fearing the major commercial and industrial hubs in northern Iraq might be used as bases for a separate Kurdish state rejected by Turkey.

The Kurdish people in southeastern Turkey have been seeking "independence" in the past decade.

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