Turkey Extends Permit for US-British Air Flight over Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 26, 2002

Turkey Extends Permit for US-British Air Flight over Iraq

The Turkish Parliamentary General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a decree on the extension of the Operation Northern Watch for six months as of Dec. 31, 2002, reported the Anatolian News Agency.

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The Turkish Parliamentary General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a decree on the extension of the Operation Northern Watch for six months as of Dec. 31, 2002, reported the Anatolian News Agency.

Under Operation Northern Watch, US-british military aircraft, taking off from the southern Turkish Air Base of Incirlik, will patrol over the so-called no-fly zone in northern Iraq.

The no-fly zone was established by the United States and Britainin the wake of the 1991 Gulf War without the approval of the UnitedNations. The Iraqi government often accused Ankara of allowing the US-British planes to invade the Iraqi air space.

Submitting the decree to the parliament for approval on behalf of the government, Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said flights under the Operation Northern Watch are held in line with principles and rules set by Turkey," adding that "we have been monitoring these flights carefully."

"The primary benefit of the operation is to prevent new migration movements from jeopardizing the social and economic orderof our country and border security," he said, arguing that "unfortunately, conditions proving that this jeopardy has eliminatedtotally in our region have not emerged yet."

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