The government, under pressure to take drastic measures to fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), approved and sent a measure to Parliament yesterday authorizing a cross-border operation into northern Iraq to crush the group’s bases there, bringing the country a step closer to an incursion.
The motion, which seeks parliamentary authorization for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq any time in the next year, was sent to Parliament immediately after it was signed by all government ministers. The measure is to be voted on in Parliament on Wednesday, where an overwhelming majority of deputies, except those of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), are expected to vote in favor.
Asked about the timing of a possible operation, deputy chief of Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun told reporters yesterday: “If this duty is assigned to us, we will then look into the timeline on which it will be carried out. It is not possible to say anything about this right now.”
Saygun said Turkish authorities the General Staff would look into different factors, such as weather and particular needs, before deciding on the timing of a cross-border operation. With the winter approaching, experts say a military operation in the mountainous PKK hideouts should take place soon, or be delayed until the spring. Saygun, however, shrugged off suggestions that the Turkish army had only a limited window of opportunity to attack before winter conditions made such a move impossible. “The season would be taken into consideration in addition to other factors …. But we cannot say that we’ll go to Iraq if it doesn’t snow or we won’t go if it does,” he said.
Turkish casualties have risen in recent weeks as PKK terrorists have stepped up their attacks, putting more public pressure on the government to send troops into Iraq to deal with the threat. A total of 13 soldiers died in a PKK ambush earlier this month, just days after 12 civilians were killed in a separate attack in southeastern Anatolia, Zaman reports.
