Turkey took a step toward a military operation in Iraq on Tuesday, as its top political and military leaders issued a statement authorizing troops to cross the Iraqi border to eliminate separatist Kurdish rebel camps in the northern region.
Yesterday, Turkish troops pounded suspected Kurdish rebel camps in northern Iraq with artillery fire, a newspaper reported.
Turkey made the move in the face of strong opposition by the US, which is anxious to maintain peace in the region, one of the rare areas of stability in conflict-torn Iraq. But more than two dozen Turkish soldiers have been killed in recent days and the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seemed far more determined than before to act decisively.
A government official without authorization to speak publicly on the issue who asked not to be identified by name said preparations were underway to seek parliamentary approval for a cross-border military operation, a request that would be the first formal step toward an offensive.
Government offices and institutions have been ordered "to take all economic and political measures, including cross-border operations when necessary, in order to end the existence of the terror organization in a neighboring country," said the statement, released by Erdogan's office after he met political and military leaders in Ankara.
A Turkish military offensive into northern Iraq would have far-reaching consequences for the US. Turkey is a NATO member and has the region's most powerful army. Its support of the US in the Iraq war is crucial. The US' Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey supplies the military in central Iraq.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US had encouraged Turkish officials to work with the Iraqi government.
"In our view, it is not going to lead to a long-term, durable solution to have significant incursions from Turkey into Iraq," he said at a news briefing in Washington.
But Baghdad has little authority in the region, which is controlled exclusively by Kurds and an accord reached by Iraq's interior minister and senior Turkish officials last month did not include permission for military operations, a formulation that frustrated Turkey.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is set to issue sea and land warnings for Tropical Storm Krathon as projections showed that the tropical storm could strengthen into a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan proper, the CWA said yesterday. The sea warning is scheduled to take effect this morning and the land warning this evening, it said. The storm formed yesterday morning and in the evening reached a point 620 nautical miles (1,148km) southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, moving west-southwest at 4 kph as it strengthened, the CWA said. Its radius measured between 220km and 250km, it added. Krathon is projected
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