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KURD MILITANTS WARN TURKEY AGAINST ENTERING SYRIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
March 22, 2012 - 21:35 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Kurd militants threatened on Thursday,
March 22 to turn all Kurdish populated areas into a "war zone" if
Turkish troops entered Syria, a sign the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
which has allies in Syria may be taking sides in the conflict there,
Reuters reported.
A renewed alliance between Damascus and the PKK would anger Turkey
and could prompt it to take an even stronger line against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad over his brutal repression of anti-government
protesters.
PKK field commander Murat Karayilan said Turkey was preparing the
ground for an intervention in Syria.
Western Kurdistan is the term Kurdish nationalists use to describe
Kurdish areas of northeast Syria, while by Kurdistan they mean the
Kurdish areas of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said last week that setting up a
"safe zone" or a "buffer zone" along the border with Syria to protect
civilians from Assad's forces was among the options being considered
should the stream of refugees turn into a flood.
Setting up such a zone would involve troops entering Syria to secure
territory. Turkey has turned sharply against its former friend Assad
and has taken a lead in trying to forge international agreement on
the need for stronger action on Syria.
While Syrian government forces are clashing daily with insurgents
demanding the downfall of Assad, Syrian Kurdish areas have remained
relatively calm, despite many Kurds' long-standing opposition to
the government.
Some Syrian Kurdish groups opposed to Assad have formed their own
umbrella group after complaining of being sidelined by the main
opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), which they say is dominated
by Arab nationalists.
But the comparative calm in Syria's Kurdish northeast may also be
related to what some Kurdish analysts say is the growing influence
of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian Kurdish group allied
to the PKK which has kept away from the opposition.
PanARMENIAN.Net
March 22, 2012 - 21:35 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Kurd militants threatened on Thursday,
March 22 to turn all Kurdish populated areas into a "war zone" if
Turkish troops entered Syria, a sign the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
which has allies in Syria may be taking sides in the conflict there,
Reuters reported.
A renewed alliance between Damascus and the PKK would anger Turkey
and could prompt it to take an even stronger line against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad over his brutal repression of anti-government
protesters.
PKK field commander Murat Karayilan said Turkey was preparing the
ground for an intervention in Syria.
Western Kurdistan is the term Kurdish nationalists use to describe
Kurdish areas of northeast Syria, while by Kurdistan they mean the
Kurdish areas of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said last week that setting up a
"safe zone" or a "buffer zone" along the border with Syria to protect
civilians from Assad's forces was among the options being considered
should the stream of refugees turn into a flood.
Setting up such a zone would involve troops entering Syria to secure
territory. Turkey has turned sharply against its former friend Assad
and has taken a lead in trying to forge international agreement on
the need for stronger action on Syria.
While Syrian government forces are clashing daily with insurgents
demanding the downfall of Assad, Syrian Kurdish areas have remained
relatively calm, despite many Kurds' long-standing opposition to
the government.
Some Syrian Kurdish groups opposed to Assad have formed their own
umbrella group after complaining of being sidelined by the main
opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), which they say is dominated
by Arab nationalists.
But the comparative calm in Syria's Kurdish northeast may also be
related to what some Kurdish analysts say is the growing influence
of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian Kurdish group allied
to the PKK which has kept away from the opposition.