Iraq agrees on deal for Turkish cross-border raids on PKK; Kurds reject as a violation of Kurdish sovereignty

Above: A PKK fighter looks out across Iraq's border with Turkey. The PKK and its allied organization PJAK have been fighting for an ethnic homeland since 1984 in an area covering parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.

Turkey, Iraq in 'Kurd rebel deal'

Turkey and Iraq have agreed on a deal to allow Turkish forces to cross into Iraq to pursue Kurdish rebels, media reports say...

Local Turkish television station NTV reported that under the accord, Turkish forces could cross into Iraq for small-scale "hot-pursuit" operations to chase the armed rebels after seeking permission from Iraqi authorities.

"The security agreement covers many issues related to the extradition of wanted suspects and activating security co-operation," Mr Bolani said...

The PKK has been labelled a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU.

Read the rest at BBC News

Iraq's Kurds reject Baghdad's security deal with Turkey

The government of Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region will not accept any security agreement sealed by Baghdad and Ankara without its consent, a Kurdish official said on Thursday...

"The question of the PKK is a political issue and it should not be resolved by military means," Jamal Abdallah, the spokesman for the Kurdish Autonomous Region, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Abdallah described any security agreement that aims at ending the rebel activities in Kurdish areas in northern Iraq as "useless"...

"Any military operation of Turkish troops against PKK rebels would take place in the territories of the province of Kurdistan, which is recognized in the Iraqi constitution as a federal province with its own sovereignty and particularity within Iraq," he said...

Direct talks between Turkey and its own rebel group is the only way to resolve the issue of their presence in northern Iraq, Abdallah said.

Read the rest at Digital Journal

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