by Mondoreb
Iraq has just shut down PKK offices in Iraq and frozen their assets. This may help to de-escalate tensions in the on-going PKK problem with Turkey.
One now wonders: why wasn't this done before? Did it really have to take Turkey moving military units to the border and cross-border raids to move the Iraqis to action?
More from the AP:
Iraq's government, under growing pressure to crack down on Kurdish rebels using the country's north as a base for guerrilla attacks in Turkey, ordered their offices closed Tuesday and promised to curb their movements and block their funds.So a positive step has been taken. Will it be enough to calm the anger on the Turkish side? Does this reward actions, not words? Are the Turks also asking why this wasn't done before this?
Turkish troops were massing along the border, with military helicopters airlifting commando units into the area overnight. Earlier Tuesday in London, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that his country cannot wait forever for the Iraqi government to move.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the offices of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, known by its Turkish acronym PKK, closed, and said the government will "not allow it to work on Iraqi territory."
This action by the Iraqis answers a few questions, but raises others. Hopefully, the right questions have been answered for now and a little breathing space achieved.
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