Turkey ignores Iraq pull-out plea

Al Jazeera

Heavy fighting between the Turkish military and PKK fighters in northern Iraq has continued despite pleas by the Iraqi government for Turkey to withdraw.

Turkish troops on Monday fired more than 40 salvos of artillery shells across the Iraqi border and witnesses said helicopters continued to target Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in Iraq.

A day earlier, a Turkish helicopter crashed in Iraq and at least eight soldiers were killed during a ground operation against the banned Kurdish group.

Turkey's five-day incursion has focused on border towns and Al Jazeera has learned of troops and helicopters heading towards the town of Goli.

'Heavy fighting'

James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in northern Iraq, said: "[Goli] is a place that has been a PKK camp, its in a mountainous area, and we believe that attack is about to get under way or is already under way."

With Turkish and Iraq's regional Kurdish government denying journalists access to the clashes are taking place, it is difficult to independently confirm the fighting, he said.

"What is clear from both Turkish and PKK figures, although they're very different," Bays said, "is that there are still casualties on both sides and that heavy fighting is continuing."

The Turkish military says 15 soldiers have been killed since Thursday but PKK fighters say they have killed 47 troops so far.

Turkey also said it had killed 33 more PKK members, taking the Kurdish toll to 112 since the launch of the cross-border incursion on Thursday evening.

Withdrawal calls

The Iraqi government on Sunday called for Turkey to withdraw its troops from northern Iraq.

A statement by Nuri al-Maliki's government urged Turkey "to withdraw its forces from Iraqi soil as soon possible".

"The government of Iraq calls on Turkey to respect its sovereignty and unity and considers that the unilateral operation across the border is a threat to the region," the statement said.

It came after Turkey's military warned Iraqi Kurds not to shelter Kurdish fighters fleeing its offensive.

The PKK is fighting for autonomy in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey and have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from bases in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

Started in 1984, the conflict has claimed as many as 40,000 lives.