The Associated Press [2] reported June 6 that hundreds of Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq in pursuit of PKK guerrillas. The reports were denied by Ankara. The following day, Reuters [3] reported that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said parliament's approval would be needed for such an incursion. "A parliament decision is necessary to launch a cross-border operation and the steps would be taken accordingly," Erdogan was quoted by state-run Anatolian agency. AP [4] reported that Turkey's top commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said: "The Turkish soldier is not a bully of the neighborhood. There is need for political directives." However, he did say several areas near the border have been declared "temporary security zones."
Thomson Financial [5] reported that global oil prices, which rose in response to reports of the incursion, fell 17 cents to $70.85 per barrel in response to the denial.
See our last posts on Iraq [6], Turkey and Kurdistan [7], the struggle for Iraq's oil [8], and the struggle for the world's oil [9].
