UPDATE ON BORDER INCIDENTS AND PKK PRESENCE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001889

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2017
TAGS: PBTS PGOV PINS PTER IZ TU IR
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON BORDER INCIDENTS AND PKK PRESENCE IN
DOHUK PROVINCE, IRAQI KURDISTAN

REF: BAGHDAD 1391

Classified By: Classified by D/RRT APatterson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d).


1. (U) This is an RRT Erbil Reporting Cable


2. (C) SUMMARY: Iraqi military leaders in Dohuk Province
request additional resources from the Iraqi central
government and the USG to cover the Iraq-Turkey border area
in Dohuk Province. They cite 22 instances of Turkish
military action in Dohuk Province from May 3 to 29. Iraqi
border guard chief said Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) cells do
not carry out military movements and can be removed if
ordered by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense (MOD),the
Multi-National Forces ) Iraq (MNF-I) and the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG). END SUMMARY.


3. (C) On June 4, RRT Offs met with General Salaam Faqi,
Head of the Provincial Joint Coordination Committee (PJCC),
and Colonel Hussein Tamer, Chief of Dohuk Province Border
Patrol, Department of Border Enforcement (DBE),Iraqi
Ministry of Interior. They are Kurdish members of the Iraqi
armed forces and not Peshmerga.

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RESOURCE NEEDS
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4. (C) The PJCC and DBE Chiefs said despite the security
handover to the KRG by MNF-I and the Korean army on May 30,
the Regional Iraqi Control, the KRG still needs US military
and civilian assistance.


5. (C) Colonel Hussein cited the lack of staff and equipment
to safeguard the 225 kilometer area of Dohuk Province which
borders Turkey. He added that out of the 958 DBE guards, 807
require weapons. The DBE Chief said he also needed
uniforms, 60 vehicles (tankers, road clearing vehicles) and
3,000 more staff including support staff to bring his
operation up to full capacity. Due to lack of resources,
night patrols, he noted, have ceased and there are sections
in the mountainous border area which are not inspected.


6. (C) There are 16 border stations in Dohuk Province
whereas 49 were planned for construction, Colonel Hussein
remarked. He emphasized that due to a lack of hardened
border guard compounds, the Peshmerga handed over to the DBE
five of their stations to operate from.

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TURKISH MILITARY ACTIONS INSIDE DOHUK PROVINCE
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7. (C) The DBE and PJCC Chiefs stated that for the period
May 3-29, 22 Turkish army actions were carried out two to
three kilometers inside the Iraqi Kurdistan border in Dohuk
Province (reftel).


8. (C) The PJCC and DBE Chiefs said since 1997, the Turkish
military have carried out actions in the border areas inside
Dohuk Province. Usually during the winter months, the
Turkish soldiers return to Turkey, they added. General
Salaam mentioned that there is no announcement from the
Turkish military advising of the time or place of such
actions. (NOTE: The Turkish military has notified MNF-I of
their spring deployments inside Iraq since 2003. This year,
we suggested the Department request Embassy Ankara to ask the
Turkish government to also notify the GOI of their
deployments. See Reftel). He acknowledged a recent and
unusual increase in Turkish forces in Dohuk Province but
provided no figures or objective behind the change.

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PKK REMOVAL: A POLITICAL DECISION
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9. (C) Colonel Hussein also confirmed that since October
1992 the PKK has a presence inside the border area of Dohuk
Province near the Turkish border. He underscored that the
DBE forces have no relation and no communication with PKK
members. The DBE Chief said that the PKK in Dohuk Province
do not carry out military maneuvers and do not constitute a
threat to the Iraqi army. In terms of their organization,
training, and equipment, the PKK has not changed over the
last few years, he continued, and when confronted, appear
fearful of the Iraqi army. He said their presence in the KRG
and in Turkey is political and used as a justification for
the Government of Turkey to secure resources for the Turkish
army.


10. (C) The PJCC and DBE Chiefs agreed that military

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intervention to remove the PKK would require a political
decision by the Iraqi MOD, the KRG, and MNF-I. They affirmed
that, militarily, the removal of the PKK, if ordered, would
not be problematic because there are only 500 PKK members in
the Dohuk Province border area. (Note: General Salaam
estimated the more realistic level of 700-800 in reftel.
This estimate is supported by other Kurdish military and
political sources.)


11. (C) COMMENT: The two generals provided us with mixed
messages: while they say that they can handle the PKK
militarily if so ordered, they also want significant new
border security resources. Also, while they say that the
failure to remove the PKK from the border region is the
result of a political decision, top KRG officials have
repeatedly told RRTOFFs that they are against the PKK
presence in Iraqi Kurdistan. It remains unclear therefore if
elimination of the PKK in Dohuk Province stems from a lack of
border guards and equipment. The KRG may also be using the
PKK as a justification to seek resources for their security
forces. If the PKK is not a significant threat, then one
possibility is that the KRG is seeking better border security
capabilities to monitor and deter Turkish incursions. END
COMMENT
CROCKER