Iraqi Kurdish Rebels Making Steady Advance Toward Kirkuk

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 28, 2003

Iraqi Kurdish Rebels Making Steady Advance Toward Kirkuk

Kurdish rebels were closing in on the major northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk Friday following the Iraqi troops' retreat under intensified US-British air raids, reports said.

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Kurdish rebels were closing in on the major northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk Friday following the Iraqi troops' retreat under intensified US-British air raids, reports said.

Fighters from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have advanced to within just 20 kilometers east of Kirkuk after Iraqi forces abandoned their positions guarding the road to the strategic oil center, the reports said.

PUK soldiers captured the town of Qarah Anjir after clearing scores of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines left behind by the Iraqi army, which were believed to have pulled back to within Kirkuk's city limits.

Iraqi forces abandoned positions on a ridge overlooking the PUK-held town of Chamchamal, 40 kilometers east of Kirkuk, after US andBritish warplanes launched precision airstrikes on the exposed bunkers.

Tens of thousands of Kurds have been displaced from Kirkuk in a campaign of "Arabization" ordered by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The Kurdish rebels regard Kirkuk as their future capital of an independent Kurdish state to be established in northern Iraq.

The Kurdish advance came after 1,000 US troops parachuted into the PUK-controlled region and areas held by the other rebel Kurd group, the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

The US troops have already secured the Harir airport in the area, which will be used to transport supplies and reinforcements to set up a crucial northern front in the war on Iraq.

The US attempt to open a northern front was dealt a major blow after Turkey refused to allow in 62,000 US troops for the invasion of Iraq.

It remained unknown if the US government will prevent the Kurdish from capturing Kirkuk, as Turkey fears the Kurdish control of the oil wealth there could fuel the Kurdish rebellion for independence in its southeastern region.

Under the US pressure, Turkish government has so far failed to dispatch troops into northern Iraq to establish a so-called buffet zone under the name of preventing massive influx of Iraqi refugees.

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