Turkey to set up new army units to take on guerrillas

TURKEY is working on a plan to create professional army units to combat Kurdish militants, its defence minister has said after an increase in separatist violencew in the south-east of the country.

The revived 26-year-old insurgency has fuelled debate about such a move to counter attacks by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas, who frequently launch cross-border raids from camps in northern Iraq.

Turkey's army largely consists of young conscripts who serve for up to 15 months, whereas the soldiers who sign up for the special units will serve for five to ten years.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan shared details of the plan with an opposition party leader this week, saying a professionally trained army would be in charge of border security, media reports said.

A recent spate of PKK attacks has undermined a bid by Mr Erdogan to boost Kurdish minority rights, and has put his government under pressure to rein in the violence as it prepares for an election due by July 2011.

Ankara has repeatedly called for more intelligence support from Iraq and the US in fighting the rebels. Tens of thousands of soldiers are already based along the border.

Under the plan, around 150 new military outposts would be built in the mountainous border region, reports said.