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Turkey rejects ceasefire with PKK

Turkey's foreign minister rejected any ceasefire with Kurdish rebels yesterday as he met with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad to press them to crack down on the guerrillas. Turkish forces massed on the border and tensions rose over a threatened military incursion.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said there were several ways to fight terrorism and Ankara would use them when appropriate, as the buildup of troops along Turkey's border with Iraq continued with military helicopters airlifting commando units into the area overnight.

The feverish diplomatic activity followed Sunday's rebel ambush near the Iraqi border that left 12 Turkish soldiers dead, 16 wounded and eight missing.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with British leaders in London and warned that Turkey could not wait forever for the Iraqi government to act against the rebels in the north.

Britain has backed the US in trying to keep Turkey from crossing into Iraq to attack Kurdish rebels based there. The US and others fear a Turkish attack could lead to widespread bloodshed in one of Iraq's few relatively peaceful areas.

"We also don't wish our historical and friendly ties with Iraq to be ruined because of a terrorist organization," Babacan said at a joint news conference after meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, himself a Kurd. "On the other hand, we expect support from the international community and our neighbors in the struggle against terrorism."

Babacan said rebel attacks left 42 people dead this month.

But he rejected any offer of a ceasefire by the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is known by its Kurdish acronym, PKK, and operates from bases in the mountainous border area in northern Iraq.

Ceasefires are "possible between states and regular forces," a stern-faced Babacan said. "The problem here is that we're dealing with a terrorist organization."

The PKK has called on Turkey not to attack Iraq, claiming that a unilateral rebel ceasefire declared in June was still in place.
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