Iraq's Kurds vow to defend themselves against Turkey
ZAKHU, Iraq (Reuters) - Angered by heavy shelling and aerial bombardments, Kurds in northern Iraq's mountainous provinces vowed to defend themselves against Turkish attacks on Sunday, and accused Turkey's troops of targeting their villages.
Turkish troops backed by warplanes and artillery crossed into Iraq's largely autonomous northern Kurdistan region last Thursday, to rout Kurdish separatist rebels who have hideouts in the mountains from which they launch attacks in southern Turkey.
As Turkish forces pressed on with the incursion on Sunday, pickup trucks and minibuses full of Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga security forces were patrolling the region's snow-covered mountain roads.
Carrying AK-47s over their shoulders and with their heads wrapped in traditional Kurdish turbans, the Peshmerga, which in Kurdish means "those ready to face death", said they would fight Turkish forces if they stay too long.
So far the Peshmerga forces have stayed on the sidelines of the Turkish military operation, which is taking place in a remote, sparsely populated mountainous region. Kurdish officials regard the area as outside their control.
"We have lost our patience with the Turkish military's shelling of our area," said Peshmerga fighter Rasheed Ghazi, 53. "We will confront them if they push further with their troops or try to our occupy our area."
Ghazi used to be a farmer in small village near the Turkish border, but he fled last year after Turkish warplanes bombed it. Arriving in the town of Bekoofa and having no money no job, he decided to join the Peshmerga.
The leadership of Kurdistan warned on Saturday that any targeting of Kurdish civilians will result in "massive resistance" by its Peshmerga forces.
Turkey says it is carrying out a limited operation against the PKK, which it blames for the death of nearly 40,000 people since it began its armed struggle in 1984. U.S. officials say Ankara has given assurances it will do all it can to avoid civilian casualties.
So far there have been no reports of any civilian casualties but residents in villages near the border say they are being targeted in air strikes and artillery barrages.
"The Turks just keep shelling our village and it never stops, on the pretext the PKK is nearby," said Ramzi Hassan, 43, standing against a backdrop of jagged, snow-capped escarpments.
Some have fled their villages. A man who gave his name only as Othman said he had left his house in a hurry with his wife and six children when the bombing started on Thursday. He plans to return only to salvage his goats and sheep, he said.
Others are in a more defiant mood.
Khalil Mohammed lost his brother to Turkish shelling in 1997. Now the Peshmerga fighter wants Turkey out of north Iraq.
"My brother was a simple farmer, but he was killed by a Turkish rocket in his sleep," he said. "Those Turks are oppressors: we must be ready to defend ourselves."
