Iranian Ethnic Factions Ignore Cease-Fire Order

          
          Iranian Ethnic Factions ignore Cease-Fire Order
          B // ii iarn Bier igir // ashngto i Post I oteigli Sen ice
          The U oihho',oiz P( it (1) 4 ( w1eni h1e 21, 1979.
          Pr iQ iest Historical Ness spapers The /Vashrngton Post (1877 1994)
          pg Ut
          att1 g u Nørthw st
          
          lrainan Ethnic Factions
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          ignore. ease r ire t raer
          By William Branigin
          - Wishin tOn Post POr iRIi Servthe/
          TEHRAN April 22—A conflict be-
          tween Kurdish tribesmen and Turk-
          ish speaking Azerbai nnis raged into
          the third day today despite a cease-
          fire ultimatur n fl-am the government
          in Tçliran' and a threat to send Ayatol
          Iah RuhoIlah Khotheini' Islamic
          Ai -m to quell the fighting
          The combatants in the town of
          T hqadeh in northwestern Iran appar-
          euitly nored t ie government's de-
          mand:that they cease fire by 4 p m or
          fá e intervention by Army troops. Sal-
          di rs fronra military gatiison “1 the
          ai a v ii e sent to the scene arbund
          n1 dday, but there were conflicting ye-
          po t s on whether they actually en-
          tered the town The troons reodrtedly
          nuthbeiied no more than a few bun
          ed and were believed to have taken
          positrons outside Naqadch
          Report from the scene tonight said
          e fighting died dawn after nightfall 1
          ‘but it was unclear whether this was
          J cause of any truce agreement.
          Tbe reports said tension was rising
          in neighboring towns between Kurd-
          ish and Turkish inhabitants 1 and that
          authorities feared that the violence
          thight pread beyond Naqadeh.
          Teliran newspapers today said up to
          80 people have been killed so far in
          fierce house-to-house fighting in
          Naqadeh, a town of mixed Kurdish,
          Turkish- and Persian-speaking inhabit-
          ants in Iran's West Azerbaijan Prov-
          ince
          While the battle in Naqadeh dealt a
          new setback to Khomeini's efforts to
          restore otder and centralired author
          ity to a countiy wracked by revolu
          tion, the ayatollah extended his influ
          enec aver the government in Telu-an
          by naming a close aide acting foreign
          minister.
          Dr. Ibrahim Yazth, the deputy pre
          mier for i evolutionsi y affan s, was put
          in charge of the Foreign Ministry to
          day following the resignation last
          week of Karini San3abi, Prime Minis
          ter Mehdi Bazargan technically took
          over the foreign ministers' portfolio,
          but the task of running the ministry
          was assigned to Yazdi,
          A farmer cancer researcher in
          iTp rp Ve di hiw h nme the subject
          0' controversy here because of his be
          hind the scenes role as a lending mem
          ber of Khomeini's entourage Yazdi's
          cor solidation of personal power he
          keeps his position as deputy prime
          minister—appeared likely to aggra
          vate strains between staunch Kho
          mcmi supporters and an emerging co-
          alition of Iranian liberals and leftists,
          who are feeling i creasingly excluded
          by the government.
          At the same time, the Tehran gov-
          ernment issued a warning to the
          United States and Mexico that any of
          fer of asylum to tile deposed shah, his
          family and entourage would be con
          sidered ‘an unfriendly act” The gay-
          ernmenf said it has invalidated the
          Iianian passports of the shah and
          other members of the royal family
          who left the country before the Feb
          ruary revolution that topplecr the
          mnn s- hy
          In Naqadeh fighting intensified to-
          day following two days of battles
          sparked by shooting during a rally for
          Kurdish autonomy at a sports sta
          dium
          Battling the predominantly Suni
          Moslem Kurds of the leftist Iranian
          wing of the Kurdistan Derhocratic
          party in today's fighting were Azerba-
          i anis of Turkish origin and Persia s
          loyal to the Khomeini revolutionary
          committees. Bath gi oups are mostly
          Shilte Moslem and more conservative.
          In a message to the people of Na-
          qadeh, Interior Minister Ahmad
          Sadr Haj Seyed Javadi called for an
          end to the fighting “between brother
          Moslems ” Desprte his cease fire ul
          timatuin and threat to send in troops,
          however, the government appears to
          have no alternative capable of restor-
          ing oi-der short of talking the warring
          factions into accepting a truce.
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