Baghdad blasts Turkish "invasion" of Kurdish northern enclave 

 BAGHDAD, Oct 25 (AFP) - 12h33 - Baghdad has complained to the UN about an incursion by
 the Turkish army into Kurdish-held northern, Iraq which began earlier this month, reserving the
 right to "self-defense," a statement saud Thursday.

 Turkey "is asked to cease its aggression and to withdraw its invasion troops without delay,"
 said Iraq's representative to the United Nations, Mohammad al-Duri, in a message to UN
 Secretary General Kofi Annan.

 Duri said Turkish troops, backed by about 30 tanks, had rolled into northern Iraq in several
 phases since October 5.

 "They are now carrying out fortification works in order to maintain their new invasion" of the
 region, he said.

 Duri denounced such "violation of Iraqi sovereignty" and called on the United Nations to
 "assume its responsibilities" in acting to "put an immediate end to the Turkish military
 aggression."

 Baghdad "reserves the right to self-defense," he warned.

 The Turkish army frequently launches operations into neighboring northern Iraq against rebels of
 the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who are believed to have taken shelter there since the
 1991 Gulf War.

 Western-protected northern Iraq, which has been outside Baghdad's control since the Gulf War,
 is controlled by two main Kurdish factions.

 The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Masoud Barzani controls an area along the Turkish
 border, while Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) administers a patch of land
 close to the Iranian border.
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