budanski
07-06-2003, 01:49 AM
Turkey furious as US seizes its troops in Iraq
By David Wastell, Diplomatic Correspondent
Telegraph.co.uk (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$UIY3K3X3GH2RNQFIQMGSFF4AVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2003/07/06/wturk06.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/07/06/ixnewstop.html)
(Filed: 06/07/2003)
In an angry spat between two already tetchy Nato allies, Turkey's prime minister Tayyip Erdogan has protested at "a totally ugly incident" in which American troops seized 11 Turkish special forces soldiers in northern Iraq.
The Turks were detained late on Friday, apparently on suspicion of plotting to kill a senior Iraqi Kurdish official in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
Last night, a Turkish official said "forceful representations" made to Washington had resulted in the release of "some of the soldiers". Others remained in United States hands.
The row threatens to undermine efforts to repair relations between the two Nato allies, badly strained since Turkey refused to allow US troops to invade Iraq from its soil during the war.
Mr Erdogan said: "We demanded their immediate release. It's a totally ugly incident - something that shouldn't have happened."
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said the soldiers were detained after 100 American troops raided their base in Sulaimaniya, northern Iraq, and transferred them to Kirkuk.
The newspaper said the soldiers were accused of planning an attack on the Kurdish governor in Kirkuk - a charge dismissed by Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, as "nonsense".
Yesterday, protesters outside the US embassy in Ankara accused Washington of taking hostages and shouted: "Murderer USA! Get out of the Middle East!" Robert Deutch, the deputy chief of the embassy, said he was "trying to get this resolved as soon as we can".
A spokesman for US Central Command refused to give details or say why the troops had been detained.
US-backed Kurdish leaders in Iraq have urged Turkey to withdraw all its troops sent to hunt Kurdish guerrillas, who previously waged a violent separatist campaign in south-eastern Turkey. Ankara fears that Kurds still want to create an independent state.
What if we were just to let Iraq invade Turkey from the rear? Would Greece help? Yes, I am just full of bad ones tonight!
By David Wastell, Diplomatic Correspondent
Telegraph.co.uk (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$UIY3K3X3GH2RNQFIQMGSFF4AVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2003/07/06/wturk06.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/07/06/ixnewstop.html)
(Filed: 06/07/2003)
In an angry spat between two already tetchy Nato allies, Turkey's prime minister Tayyip Erdogan has protested at "a totally ugly incident" in which American troops seized 11 Turkish special forces soldiers in northern Iraq.
The Turks were detained late on Friday, apparently on suspicion of plotting to kill a senior Iraqi Kurdish official in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
Last night, a Turkish official said "forceful representations" made to Washington had resulted in the release of "some of the soldiers". Others remained in United States hands.
The row threatens to undermine efforts to repair relations between the two Nato allies, badly strained since Turkey refused to allow US troops to invade Iraq from its soil during the war.
Mr Erdogan said: "We demanded their immediate release. It's a totally ugly incident - something that shouldn't have happened."
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said the soldiers were detained after 100 American troops raided their base in Sulaimaniya, northern Iraq, and transferred them to Kirkuk.
The newspaper said the soldiers were accused of planning an attack on the Kurdish governor in Kirkuk - a charge dismissed by Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, as "nonsense".
Yesterday, protesters outside the US embassy in Ankara accused Washington of taking hostages and shouted: "Murderer USA! Get out of the Middle East!" Robert Deutch, the deputy chief of the embassy, said he was "trying to get this resolved as soon as we can".
A spokesman for US Central Command refused to give details or say why the troops had been detained.
US-backed Kurdish leaders in Iraq have urged Turkey to withdraw all its troops sent to hunt Kurdish guerrillas, who previously waged a violent separatist campaign in south-eastern Turkey. Ankara fears that Kurds still want to create an independent state.
What if we were just to let Iraq invade Turkey from the rear? Would Greece help? Yes, I am just full of bad ones tonight!