Syria arrests 100 Kurds after New Year clashes
15h02 - DAMASCUS, March 27, 2006 (AFP) - More than 100 people were arrested last week in northern Syria when a demonstration by thousands of Kurds celebrating their New Year turned violent, a human rights activist said Monday.

Kurds to form united government in northern Iraq
16h37 - ARBIL, Iraq, March 26, 2006 (AFP) - Iraqi Kurdistan's President Massud Barzani asked leaders of the two main Kurdish parties to form a single government for the autonomous region in the north of the country.

Turkish army kills 14 Kurdish rebels in clashes
17h05 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 25, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish army troops killed 14 Kurdish rebels in operations in the east of the country in the most violent clashes of recent months, security forces here said Saturday.

US tells Turkey time not ripe for military action against Kurdish rebels
11h08 - ANKARA, March 24, 2006 (AFP) - The top US military officer on Friday ruled out any action against separatist Turkish Kurd rebels in northern Iraq before Iraqi authorities are able to bring the security sitation in their country under control and set up a strong government.

Nineteen injured as Kurds clash with Turkish police
17h46 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 23, 2006 (AFP) - Nineteen people were injured Thursday when Turkish riot police broke up a demonstration in the southeastern city of Hakkari against the arrest of a Kurdish politician, the regional government said.

At least 12 injured as Kurds clash with Turkish police
16h52 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 23, 2006 (AFP) - At least 12 people were injured Thursday when Turkish riot police broke up a demonstration in the southeastern city of Hakkari against the arrest of a Kurdish politician, witnesses said.

At least two injured as Kurds clash with Turkish police
15h25 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 23, 2006 (AFP) - At least two people were injured Thursday when riot police broke up a demonstration in the southeastern city of Hakkari to protest against the arrest of a Kurdish politician, witnesses said.

Thousands mass for Kurdish festival in Turkey amid tight security
13h57 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 21, 2006 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of people gathered in southeastern Turkey Tuesday to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, amid heavy police measures over fears that radical Kurds may use the event to stir unrest in the already tense region.

Kurds celebrate New Year with hopes for peace
10h33 - ARBIL, Iraq, March 21, 2006 (AFP) - Iraq's predominantly Kurdish northern provinces celebrated New Year or Newroz on Tuesday with dancing and singing amid tight security as violence wracked the rest of the country.

Syrian police, Kurds clash in Aleppo
20h47 - ALEPPO, Syria, March 20, 2006 (AFP) - Syrian security forces Monday broke up a demonstration by thousands of Kurds celebrating their New Year in the northern town of Aleppo and made several arrests, a human rights activist said.

Turkish army rebuffs accusations against top general
10h41 - ANKARA, March 20, 2006 (AFP) - The Turkish army condemned as "baseless" Monday accusations that its number two acted outside the law in the fight against Kurdish rebels and urged the government to find those responsible for what it called a unjustified, intentional attack on its ranks.

Clashes as Turkey's Kurds mark new year
16h35 - ISTANBUL, March 19, 2006 (AFP) - Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails as Turkey's restless Kurdish community celebrated its new year Sunday amid tight security with renewed demonstrations of support for its separatist movement.

Syria sentences eight dissidents to prison: lawyer
15h41 - DAMASCUS, March 19, 2006 (AFP) - Syria's state security court on Sunday sentenced six Kurds to prison terms on charges of either separatism or belonging to illegal groups, human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni said.

Private Kurdish broadcasts kick off in Turkey next week
18h05 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 17, 2006 (AFP) - Two private regional television channels and a radio station will start brief Kurdish-language broadcasts for the first time in Turkey next week.

Turkey braces for potentially tense Kurdish celebrations
12h06 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 17, 2006 (AFP) - The Turkish authorities are stepping up security measures in the southeast ahead of Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, amid concerns that Kurdish militants may use the celebrations to fuel unrest in the already tense region.

Kurdish rebel responsible for deadly Turkish blast: PKK
15h58 - ANKARA, March 12, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey's main armed Kurdish rebel group said Sunday that one of its militants was behind a deadly suicide bombing this week in eastern Turkey, but underlined that it had not ordered or endorsed the attack.

Turkey's Kurds yearn for official status for their language
14h55 - ISTANBUL, Turkey, March 12, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey's Kurds on Sunday complained of police oppression and called for an end to prejudice against their language as crucial steps towards ending a 22-year-old conflict in the southeast of the country.

Syria arrests dissidents on anniversary of Kurdish-Arab clashes
14h25 - DAMASCUS, March 12, 2006 (AFP) - Security forces on Sunday arrested a former opposition MP and several Kurdish demonstrators who were marking the second anniversary of deadly clashes in northern Syria, human rights advocates said.

Kurdish conference opens in Turkey under tight security
13h47 - ISTANBUL, March 11, 2006 (AFP) - Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals gathered here Saturday under tight security for a major conference to discuss a peaceful resolution to the 22-year-old Kurdish conflict in the country's southeast.

Kurdish rebels deny responsibility for deadly Turkish blast
14h16 - ANKARA, March 10, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey's main armed Kurdish rebel group on Friday denied responsibility for a bomb attack in eastern Turkey a day earlier that killed three people and injured 19 others.

Kurdish regional leader invites Iraqi leaders to hold talks in Kurdistan
13h06 - BAGHDAD, March 10, 2006 (AFP) - Kurdish politician Massud Barzani invited Friday all Iraqi leaders to hold talks on forming a national unity government in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Prosecutor who accused Turkish general faces probe
13h59 - ANKARA, March 8, 2006 (AFP) - A prosecutor who accused Turkey's land forces commander of acting outside the law in the fight against separatist Kurdish rebels is to face a probe into his conduct, Justice Minister Cemel Cicek said Wednesday.

Kurdish rebels claim deadly attacks in Turkey
16h57 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 7, 2006 (AFP) - Separatist Kurdish rebels claimed responsibility Tuesday for two attacks on security forces in southeast Turkey that have claimed four lives over the past week.

Two policemen killed in suspected Kurdish attack in Turkey
16h54 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - Two policemen were killed and five others injured in southeast Turkey Monday when suspected Kurdish militants attacked their van, in the latest episode of mounting violence in the mainly Kurdish region, local officials said.

Attack on police, bomb blast injure seven in southeast Turkey
16h17 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - Suspected Kurdish militants opened fire Monday on a police vehicle in southeast Turkey, wounding six officers, and detonated a time bomb that injured another person, local officials said.

UN urges Iranian Kurd refugees to move to Iraqi Kurdistan
15h46 - AMMAN, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday urged Iranian Kurds who fled Iraq and settled in a no-man's land along the Jordanian border to relocate to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Turkey's Kurds want official status for language, broader rights
15h21 - ISTANBUL, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party called on the government Monday to give Kurdish the status of an official language and scrap legal restrictions barring Kurdish representation in parliament.

Iran hands over suspected Kurdish rebels to Turkey
14h59 - ANKARA, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - Iran has handed over seven suspected Kurdish separatist militants to Turkey, Anatolia news agency reported Monday.

Senior Turkish general accused in probe over shady bombing: report
12h18 - ANKARA, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - A prosecutor has accused Turkey's land forces commander of acting outside the law in the fight against separatist Kurdish rebels, rattling the influential army, newspapers reported Monday.

Bomb blast leaves one injured in southeast Turkey
10h30 - DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - One person was injured in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey on Monday when suspected Kurdish rebels detonated a time bomb, local officials said.

Turkish general under investigation over Kurd killing:reports
09h54 - ANKARA, March 6, 2006 (AFP) - The general commanding Turkey's land forces is under legal investigation over allegations of a lethal bomb attack in an area largely populated by Kurds, the restless minority seeking independence, newspapers reported here Monday.

Nine killed in Iraq as Kurds lobby Sistani for Jaafari ouster
18h24 - BAGHDAD, March 5, 2006 (AFP) - At least nine people were killed across strife-torn Iraq as Kurdish leaders on Sunday lobbied reclusive Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to stop outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari from heading the next government.

Kurdish militants claim Turkey bomb attack
17h51 - ANKARA, March 5, 2006 (AFP) - A radical Kurdish group claimed responsibility Sunday for a bomb attack targeting a police building in western Turkey, leaving one person injured.

One injured in bomb blast in Turkey
14h33 - ANKARA, March 4, 2006 (AFP) - One person sustained minor injuries and dozens of buildings were damaged Saturday when a homemade bomb exploded near a police building in the western Turkish city of Izmir, the Anatolia news agency said.

Turkish prosecutor seeks life terms for two soldiers
17h18 - ANKARA, March 3, 2006 (AFP) - A prosecutor has asked a Turkish court to hand down life sentences without parole to two soldiers and an auxiliary accused of causing an explosion in the Kurdish area of the country, the Anatolia news agency reported Friday.

Iraq's Sunnis and Kurds increase pressure to oust PM
09h17 - BAGHDAD, March 3, 2006 (AFP) - Iraq's dominant political party, the Shiite-based United Iraqi Alliance, will run into trouble in parliament if it insists on reselecting Ibrahim Jaafari as premier, a Sunni party spokesman warned Friday.