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Iraq Kurds condemn Turkey threat Iraq urges Kurdish rebels to go
(about 3 hours later)
Kurds in Iraq have protested against the Turkish parliament's decision to allow military action against Kurdish rebels across the border. Iraq has called on Kurdish rebels to leave the north of the country as soon as possible, to avoid the area being targeted by the Turkish military.
Thousands of protesters marched in the northern Iraqi cities of Irbil and Dahuk to express opposition to any attack by Turkish forces. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the separatist PKK group was operating without permission from regional authorities.
The Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq called on Turkey to avoid confrontation and called for talks. He was speaking a day after Turkey's parliament approved cross-border operations against PKK rebels.
An Iraqi delegation has been dispatched to Turkey to discuss the issue. Iraqi Kurds staged protests against Turkey's threats of invasion.
The recent deaths of 13 Turkish soldiers in an ambush blamed on PKK separatists has put the Ankara government under renewed pressure to respond with force. In the first Iraqi reaction to the vote in Turkey's parliament, Mr Zebari called on PKK rebels, who are fighting for an independent Kurdistan, to leave.
Call for dialogue "Our formal request is that they leave Iraqi soil and leave Iraq for its people and do not bring us more problems than we're already suffering," Mr Zebari, an ethnic Kurd himself, said in an interview with Reuters news agency.
But in Irbil, thousands of people carried banners denouncing possible cross-border raids by Turkey. He said his government wanted to push the PKK out of the country but lacked the military power.
Some of the banners read: "We will resist the Turkish" and "We are in the world of dialogue, not war". "Iraqi security forces are battling the terrorists in the streets of Baghdad and many other key cities, and are overstretched," Mr Zebari said.
"To release these forces really would create a vacuum."
US appeal
Earlier, the Kurdish regional government urged Turkey not to launch any attack on PKK rebels.
PKK fighters have launched attacks on Turkish territory from IraqPKK fighters have launched attacks on Turkish territory from Iraq
In Dahuk, about 1,500 protesters also held a rally. "We want Turkey to realise that we want to live in peace," one student told Reuters news agency. "We do not want any confrontation with Turkey," it said in a statement.
The Kurdish regional government urged Turkey not to launch any attack on PKK rebels. The United States called on Turkey on Thursday "to refrain from actions inside Iraq that could cause an international crisis".
"We do not want any confrontation with Turkey." it said in a statement. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Washington was working with both the governments of Iraq and Turkey to rein in the activities of the PKK.
It added: "We will not allow our land to be used as a base to launch attacks against our neighbour." Mr Gates said he would be travelling to Turkey next week for talks with the Turkish defence minister.
Turkey's parliament voted on Wednesday to allow military action across the border, in response to attacks on Turkish armed forces and civilians. Meanwhile, Kurds in Iraq protested against the Turkish parliament's decision.
The United States, Nato and the European Union have joined Iraq in urging Turkey to exercise restraint. Thousands marched in the northern cities of Irbil and Dahuk to express opposition to any attack by Turkish forces.
In Irbil, they carried banners denouncing possible cross-border raids.
Some of the banners read: "We will resist the Turkish" and "We are in the world of dialogue, not war".
In Dahuk, about 1,500 protesters held a rally.
"We want Turkey to realise that we want to live in peace," one student told Reuters news agency.