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Kurdish factions clash in northern Iraq
September 8, 1996
Web posted at: 9:10 a.m. EDT (1310 GMT)IRBIL, Iraq (CNN) -- Renewed fighting broke out Sunday between rival Kurdish factions in northern Iraq as forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) tried to wrest control of the strategic town of Degala from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
U.N. officials confirmed there were clashes south of Irbil on the road to the PUK-held town of Koysanjak.
Iraqi forces have been encamped in the area since helping the KDP oust the PUK from Irbil on August 31. The U.N. reported that that the Iraqi forces were on the move, but said fighting between the Kurd groups was keeping the U.N. away from the scene.
Irbil, the de-facto capital of the Kurdish-controlled region in northern Iraq and a so-called "safe haven" for Kurds, was under the control of the PUK until last week's offensive. In retaliation for the Iraqi troop action, the United States launched two missile attacks against Iraqi defense and communication systems in southern Iraq and extended the southern no-fly zone to within 30 miles of Baghdad.
The U.S., France and Great Britain have enforced no-fly zones -- off-limits to Iraqi aircraft -- in the north and south of Iraq since the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. France, urging a diplomatic solution to the current problems, has refused to enforce the expanded no-fly zone in the south.
Call for U.S. intervention
PUK leaders claim the KDP is marching toward Sulaiymaniya, the last major PUK stronghold in northern Iraq.
"We call on the U.S. and its coalition partners to intervene urgently to halt the Iraqi aggression and end this onslaught against the Kurdish people," the group said in a statement.
KDP radio said that its forces had surrounded its rivals and were demanding surrender.
KDP leader Massoud Barzani and PUK leader Jalal Talbani were once allies in the Kurdish fight for independence from Iraq.
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