Iraq vows clampdown on Kurd rebels

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed yesterday to clamp down on Kurdish rebels based in his country as the threat of a Turkish cross-border military strike overshadowed international talks on efforts to stabilise Iraq.
Maliki's government said specific measures had been ordered against the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and a regional official told AFP the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq on Saturday began closing the offices of a political group linked to the PKK.
Turkey has massed troops along its frontier with Iraq, and the Istanbul gathering of Western powers and Iraq's neighbours has focused on heading off military action.
Turkey's threat to launch a cross-border operation was at the centre of talks on the sidelines of the conference between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari.
In his speech to the conference, Maliki backed efforts to prevent "the infiltration of terrorists" across the border.
"We place great importance on our relations with our brother Turkey... We are aware of the scale of the threat," he said.
"We have made a definite decision to close down the offices of the PKK in Iraq. We are taking strong measures," he said.
A senior official in Iraqi Kurdistan said authorities there had closed the offices of Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party, which he said "sympathises with the PKK."
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said new "security measures" to curb the PKK and cut off its logistical support had started Saturday.
Turkey has demanded the arrest and extradition of PKK leaders and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan again called for tough action in his speech to the conference.
"The fact that terrorist organisations based in certain regions of Iraq cause harm to neighbouring countries is a matter... that requires urgent and substantial measures," he said.
"It is of vital importance for Iraq as well as its neighbours that Iraq establishes internal security and stability while also maintaining its territorial integrity."
He said neighbouring countries must help Iraq end its strife. But he warned: "No one can feel safe unless everybody feels safe."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the conference that it was "unacceptable" for the PKK to use Iraq as a springboard for attacks inside Turkey.
He called for cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad to secure their common frontier to prevent infiltration by PKK rebels.
"The need to secure borders cannot be overemphasised," he said. "It is clearly unacceptable that Iraqi territory is used to mount attacks (in Turkey) and we understand the concerns of Turkey."
Ankara has acknowledged that Maliki is trying to help Turkey, but his embattled government has little authority in northern Iraq, where the Iraqi Kurds run an autonomous administration.
Ankara accuses the Iraqi Kurdish leadership of harbouring and aiding the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community.
The dispute has dominated Maliki's attempts to attract greater international backing for his efforts to bring peace throughout Iraq, where his government relies on the military backing of more than 130,000 US troops.
But Maliki sought to reassure the international community.
"Ethnic violence is decreasing... The civil war that al-Qaeda wanted to spark has been prevented," he told the conference.
"Iraq has overcome the period of danger and is stronger and more experienced today," he said.
Maliki asked for more international support for his government's efforts at economic reconstruction and at quashing daily violence.
The foreign ministers of Iraq and other countries in the region met ahead of the conference to seek ways to help Maliki.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan chaired the meeting which besides Iraq and host country Turkey included Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain.
The Istanbul conference is the second in a bid to help Iraq find ways of resolving its energy crisis and address the plight of four million Iraqis who are either displaced internally or have fled to Jordan and Syria.