The Turkish government will ask parliament to extend by one year its mandate to order military strikes against separatist Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, the deputy prime minister said Wednesday.
“We have decided to ask the parliament again for a one-year authorization” when lawmakers return from summer recess on October 1, Cemil Cicek, who is also the government spokesman, told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
“I believe the motion will be debated within the first few days of parliament reopening,” he said without giving a date.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) dominates the 550-seat parliament and is likely to face no difficulty in securing approval for the extension.
The government won a one-year parliamentary authorization on October 17 last year for cross-border raids against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels who have led a 24-year-long bloody campaign against Ankara.
Since last October, the army has carried out several air strikes and a week-long ground incursion against rebel targets in northern Iraq, using intelligence passed on by Turkey’s close ally, the United States.
IC Publications.
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