U.S. to help Turkey monitor Iraq bo

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

Subject: U.S. to help Turkey monitor Iraq border

20)
           id VT25176; Fri, 03 Nov 1995 22:35:09 -0800


U.S. to help Turkey monitor Iraq border

          ANKARA, Nov 1 (Reuter) - A U.S. official said on Wednesday
that Washington would provide technical assistance to help NATO
ally Turkey monitor its mountainous border with Iraq against
infiltration by separatist Kurdish rebels.
          ``What we're looking to be able to do is find the right
technical assistance that can help Turkey move ahead with steps
Turkey is already taking,'' Lynn Davis, U.S. under secretary of
state for arms control and international security affairs, told
a news briefing.
          Lt. General Daniel Christman, assistant to the chairman of
the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a meeting with Turkish
officials would be held in the next 24 hours on the issue.
          Turkey's 330-km (200-mile) border with Iraq is difficult to
patrol and a source of irritation to Ankara, facing an
11-year-old battle by Kurdish rebels fighting for autonomy or
independence in the country's southeast.
          Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas often launch
attacks into Turkey from bases in northern Iraq, controlled by
Iraqi Kurds and protected from Baghdad attacks by a Western
allied air force based in Turkey.
          Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and U.S. President Bill Clinton,
in a Washington meeting last April, agreed to work together to
improve border monitoring facilities.
          That decision came as Turkey wound down a six-week operation
in northern Iraq where about 35,000 Turkish troops went in to
flush out PKK bases. Since then, Turkey has launched several
small cross-border raids against the rebels.

PKK Leader Killed In Fight With Turkish Army Unit
Turkish army kills a Kurdish rebel leader
Date: 95-11-01 08:00:25 EST
From:  NewsAgent at aol.net

          TUNCELI, Turkey, Nov 1 (Reuter) - Turkish soldiers have
killed a top Kurdish rebel leader and 25 guerrillas in a clash
in Tunceli province in eastern Turkey, army sources said on
Wednesday.
          The death of rebel leader Suleyman Sahin -- confirmed by his
relatives in the region -- is likely a blow to the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), fighting an 11-year battle for autonomy or
independence in southeastern Turkey.
          The former Ankara University biology student was killed on
October 30 while crossing into neighbouring Bingol province from
Tunceli with a group of about 100 rebels, army sources said.
          Sahin, in his late twenties, had been with the PKK for about
seven years and was recently appointed to head the rebel fight
in Bingol province, sources said. He was considered the
right-hand man of Tunceli regional commander Semdin Sakik.
          The regional governor's office for the 10 southeastern
provinces under emergency rule said nine rebels were killed on
Wednesday in four separate clashes.
          Another eight rebels and five soldiers were killed on
Tuesday night in fighting in Mount Ararat, where some people
believe the biblical Noah's Ark came to rest.
          More than 18,000 people have died since fighting broke out
in 1984.

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 * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0)