Kurd Factions Clash, Iraqi Tanks Nearby

Iraqi troops, backed by armour, were in place nearby but did not intervene, the reports said. Last weekend Baghdad's forces helped the KDP eject PUK fighters from Arbil.

The PUK office in London said in a statement that 120 to 150 Iraqi tanks were in the area, heading in the direction of Koi Sanjaq. Heavy artillery and KDP fighters accompanied the tanks, the statement said. No confirmation was immediately available.

UN guards also reported scattered fighting around Halabja near the Iranian border, where a small band of KDP peshmerga guerrillas were reported to be surrounded by PUK units. The area is generally under the control of a Kurdish Islamist militia. Degala is on the road south to Koi Sanjaq, which protects the approaches to the PUK stronghold of Sulaimaniya, 160km southeast of Arbil.

 

It is also on the road to the Dukan Dam, held by PUK guerrillas who have cut the flow of water and power into Arbil.