Turkey's military, govt clash over Iraq, Kurds

But, in a sign of growing tensions between Turkey's army and government over how to combat the guerrillas, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said soldiers should remain focused on their duties and let the politicians deal with political issues.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this week Ankara wanted to build ties with the government of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, a move opposed by the army.

"At this moment, two groups are supporting the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) in northern Iraq," the state Anatolian news agency quoted General Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the General Staff, as saying after talks with U.S. officials in Washington.

Buyukanit was referring to the Iraq's main Kurdish parties.

"The Iraqi side of our shared border is completely unguarded. Iraq has conceded the whole border area to the PKK. Many armed terrorists are on the Iraqi side of the border," Buyukanit was quoted as saying.

Turkey has long urged U.S. and Iraqi government forces to crack down on PKK rebels hiding in northern Iraq. Buyukanit put the total number of rebels in Iraq at present at 3,500.

Washington, which like Ankara views the PKK as terrorists, says it wants to help Turkey, a NATO ally, but its forces are too tied up tackling the insurgency in other parts of Iraq.

Buyukanit hinted that Turkey might be forced to take unilateral military action against the PKK in Iraq. Turkey has often issued such warnings, though analysts say a full-scale invasion would be fraught with dangers and is highly unlikely.

"Turkey has an obligation to take measures," he was quoted saying, without specifying what measures these might be.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an independent Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.

Ankara fears the Iraqi Kurds plan to set up their own state in northern Iraq which will in turn embolden the PKK and its supporters inside Turkey.

Taking a swipe at Erdogan over his recent comments on talking with the Iraqi Kurds, Buyukanit said he would not sit down with those who provide support to the PKK.

Speaking in Ankara on Saturday, Gul said the government had a duty to speak to all groups in northern Iraq to help ensure they made the right decisions.

"Soldiers speak with weapons ... but in order not to come to that point politicians and diplomats must do their work too. It would be a big mistake to turn this issue into a polemic," Gul said before leaving for Saudi Arabia to discuss regional issues.

Turkey's generals, who see themselves as ultimate guardians of the country's secular political order, distrust Erdogan's ruling AK Party because of its Islamist roots.

They are worried that Erdogan may run for president in an election due in May and start to undermine Turkey's strict division of state and religion. Reuters