Disagreement escalates between Turkish military and KDP 

Oct 17, 2001

Ankara - Turkish Daily News 
SAADET ORUC 

Military ties between Turkey and the Massoud Barzani-led Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP) forces in northern Iraq, which was initially established in 1992, is passing
through a period of mutual disagreement, since the KDP refused to cooperate with the
Turkish military in new cross border raids in northern Iraq. 

The lack of coordination between the Turkish military and the KDP resulted with the
death of three members of Turkish Special Forces, two weeks ago, when a group of
200 special forces members, who were trying to enter northern Iraq, crossed an area
riddled with land mines close to the Berwari region, regional sources told the Turkish
Daily News. 

Two soldiers were injured during the same incident. 

As a result of the above mentioned incident, Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) pulled back
the 200 special forces units and only a liaison official was left in the region. 

However, TSK deployed land forces on the Turkish side of the border, replacing
gendarmerie units, sources say. 

Aksam Daily carried out a report on Monday stating that a unit from TSK with
expertise in fighting terrorism, was sent to Silopi and partial alert was initiated by the
army. 

TSK has a colonel stationed in Northern Iraq. 

Reportedly, since the beginning of the year 2000, TSK have been planning a
cross-border operation in Northern Iraq, for which the KDP was seen to be reluctant. 

Claiming that there was no need for a crossborder move in the area, the KDP was
drawing attention to the PKK presence in Iran and the PUK region, which was
reportedly much more than the PKK elements in the KDP controlled area. 

Between Sept. 20-22, the Turkish commander based in Silopi visited Massoud
Barzani in Salahattin and there has been broad contacts, where the Turkish
commander was informed about developments in the region. 

Back to the year 1992 

For the first time in 1992, which was recorded as the period with intensive fighting
against the PKK, TSK established links with the KDP. 

In Aug. 1995, during PKK clashes with the KDP, TSK reportedly refrained from
supporting the Iraqi Kurds, according to regional sources. 

But, ties were refreshed in 1996, which have lasted for three years. 

The opposition by KDP to frequent demands from TSK to launch crossborder raids in
the region opened the first crash in the strong cooperation between the Turkish Army
and KDP. 
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