Turkish troops mass on Iraqi borders

Dahouk – Turkish troops are massing close to the borders of northern Iraq where Kurds have set up a semi-independent enclave.

Informed sources told Iraq Press large-scale troop movements were spotted along the borders, with troop carriers and vehicles crossing into Iraqi territories.

Turkish troops have repeatedly made forays into Iraqi Kurdish areas in pursuit of Turkish Kurdish guerrillas but the sources said the latest redeployment was of a scale not seen before.

The outlawed Kurdish group, formerly known as the Kurdistan Democratic Party or PKK, has formally disbanded its armed struggle against Ankara and is currently working for reform under a different name.

The group is reported to be carrying out its peaceful activities through Kurdistan Freedom and Democratic Party, its new appellation.

It is not clear whether the Turks intend to attack the party's guerrilla bases inside Iraq or are readying themselves for a possible U.S. military move against the regime of President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.

Early this year, the group announced that it suspended its military activities and was seeking a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey.

For 15 years, the PKK fought with Turkey over the establishment of an autonomous Kurdish state in the southeast of the country.