If Turks Cross Border, It's War: Kurdish Prez

Says Turkiey is trying to undermine Kurdish prosperity in Iraq

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 29, 2007 9:07 AM CDT

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If Turks Cross Border, It's War: Kurdish Prez — Turks wave national flags with a banner that reads" We are all soldiers, we want the head of (Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud) Barzani!" during the funeral of Vedat Kutluca, one of 12 soldiers killed by Kurdish rebels at the Turkey-Iraq border Sunday, in Keskin, some 100 kilometers 62 miles) east of Ankara,... (Associated Press)

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani has warned the Turkish government that any move into his territory will be considered a declaration of war. The warning came yesterday as Turkish troops attacked separatist PKK guerrillas inside Turkey, killing 20, reports the London Times. Turkish officials have charged that the largely autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq is harboring the militants.

Barzani accused Ankara of using its grievances with the PKK as an excuse to challenge the growing prosperity and independence of Iraqi Kurds. “If they invade or if there is any incursion, it means war,” said Barzani. "If they take a peaceful approach, then we are ready to help as much as we can." Turkey is making preparations to invade Iraq to attack militants hiding there, despite protests from Iraq and the US. (More Turkey stories.)

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