ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey’s prime minister said Tuesday that increased military action against separatist Kurdish rebels was “unavoidable,” and he pressed the U.S. for a crackdown on guerrilla bases in northern Iraq.
Turkish helicopters pounded rebel positions near the border with rockets for a second day, and Turkey brought in troops by the truckload.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told members of his party in parliament: “It is now unavoidable that Turkey will have to go through a more intensive military process.” But he also suggested he was not seeking an immediate offensive against the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party holed up in northern Iraq.
Erdogan flies to Washington on Monday for talks with President Bush that could be key to whether Turkey carries out its incursion.
The Associated Press
