Non-Subscriber Extract
Iraq and the US step up measures against the PKK
02 November 2007
EVENT |
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The Iraqi government and the US military announced that they had stepped up action against Worker's Party of Kurdistan (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan: PKK) militants as part of their efforts to avert Turkish military action in northern Iraq. |
The Iraqi government announced on 1 November that it was setting up checkpoints along the border with Turkey in an effort to cut PKK supply lines while US defence officials said that they were providing the Turkish military with "actionable intelligence" on PKK positions, presumably in the Kandil mountains. Turkey also announced that it was instituting economic sanctions against groups which support those responsible for the recent upsurge in attacks against Turkish troops in southeastern Turkey, a move which could open the way for a Turkish boycott of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) based in northern Iraq.
FORECAST |
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The Turkish military will view these measures as a useful start, but Ankara will continue to maintain the pressure for more extensive action. As far as the Turks are concerned, only the imminent threat of Turkish military action appears to have yielded results from Baghdad and Washington. Nevertheless, Turkey is reluctant to commence ground operations during the winter months - although air and special forces operations may well be undertaken - therefore, these measures, coupled with the maintenance of concerted diplomatic, military and economic pressure from Ankara, should at least forestall the threat of large-scale Turkish military operations until the snows begin to melt in March 2008. |