U.S. vows to remove Kurds from Kirkuk<\/p>\n
Reuters, Ankara<\/p>\n
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Thursday U.S.
\nSecretary of State Colin Powell had reassured Ankara that U.S.
\nforces would remove Kurd fighters from Kirkuk, a key oil-rich
\ncity in northern Iraq.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Kurdish peshmerga forces poured into Kirkuk on
\nThursday, rattling the Ankara government, which sees a Kurdish
\ntakeover of the city as a first step to an independent state that
\ncould spark separatism among Turkey's own Kurds.<\/p>\n
\"Powell gave his word new U.S. forces will be sent to Kirkuk
\nin a few hours to remove the peshmerga who have gone in there,\"
\nGul told reporters after speaking by to Powell by telephone.<\/p>\n
\"In a couple of hours they will send their parachute units to
\nKirkuk and will not allow any defacto situation or fait accompli.
\nThe assurances they gave are still valid, they repeated that,\"
\nGul said.<\/p>\n
Iraqi Kurds say Kirkuk is historically theirs and that Kurds
\nhave been expelled from the city over the years by the Iraqi
\ngovernment as part of a \"Arabisation\" campaign. Many Kurds say
\nthey long to return to homes there.<\/p>\n
After lengthy talks with U.S. officials NATO ally Turkey has
\nbacked off threats to send troops into northern Iraq to stop
\nKurds from taking Kirkuk or Iraq's third largest city, Mosul,
\nalso home to large oil fields.<\/p>\n
But tens of thousands of Turkish troops remain massed along
\nthe border and Turkey has reserved the right to go in to thwart
\nany Kurdish moves toward statehood.<\/p>\n
The Kurds and the United States say such an independence bid
\nis out of the question but Turkey, still smarting from more than
\na decade of conflict with its own separatist Kurdish rebels, has
\ndeep doubts.<\/p>\n
Washington's offer of US$1 billion in grants to Turkey,
\nextendable into $8.5 billion in credits guarantees, could be
\njeopardized if Turkey sends its troops in.<\/p>\n
The Kurds have vowed to oppose any Turkish incursion and
\nWashington wants to prevent a \"war within a war\" breaking out as
\nit senses the Iraqi government is toppling.<\/p>\n
Gul said on Thursday Turkish military observers would be in
\nKirkuk soon to track U.S. promises not to allow the northern
\nIraqi oil hub to be controlled by Kurdish forces.<\/p>\n
Gul told NTV television that the United States had assured him
\nthe Kurds would not be allowed to stay in control.<\/p>\n
\"The 173rd U.S. parachute unit will be in Kirkuk within a few
\nhours. Turkish armed forces observers will enter too,\" Gul said
\nduring the live interview.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-vows-to-remove-kurds-from-kirkuk-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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