Iranian Kurds Say Army Has Joined Drive Against Them

          
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          Iranian Kiwds Say
          Army Has Joined
          1
          Drive Agamst Tnem
          By William Branigin
          Washington Pont Foreffin Service
          TEHRAN, April 25 The Kurdistan Democratic
          Pai ty said today that fierce fighting has resumed in
          northwestern Iran, with the Iranian Army joining
          T ukish speaking Aierbaijanis and Islamic militia
          men against the region's Kurdish tribesmen, -
          Tehran based spokesman for the party told a has
          thy convened news conference tonight that the op
          posing forces broke a cease fire agreed to Monday.
          “The Tunk , Ma uheds Elsiamic militiamen] and
          Army forces violated the cease4ire and are advanc
          ing into Kurdish terutory, provoking the population
          and worsening the situation beyond all control,” the
          spokesman, Jalil Gadarn, said
          He said 500 people have been killed in and around
          the West Azerbaijan provincial town of Naqadeh
          since fighting broke out there Friday He said the
          Army was using tanks and helicopter gunships to
          help the Turks and Islamic militiamen attack Kurd
          ish villages
          “What we foresee is that the government, the
          Army, the Majahecls and the Turks are going to
          uflote uitu uu fui ce and wage war on the Kurcis,”
          Gadani said
          Gadani's statement corroborated the impi essions
          a foreign correspondents who visited the area that
          the Arms units sent to Naqadeh were decidedly pro
          Turk and were working closely with the Azerbaijani
          residents aga nst the Kurds. The troops at Naqadeh
          seemed to be predominately Azerbaijani Turks
          themselves, the correspondents said
          Gadani's other allegations—that the Army used
          tanks and helicopter gunships against Kurd'sh vil-
          lages—could not be independently confirmed, how-
          ever, although visitors did see flames and smoke ris-
          ing from wnat were said to he burning Kurdish
          homes.
          Gadani said Kurdish homes were looted as well as
          buriied, and he charged that the Army and the
          Turks were holding nundreds of Kurds hostage
          He said helicopters today attacked the village of
          Aliahad near Oshnavieh, lulling six Kurdish civil-
          ians and wounding tour
          He charged that Turks kidnaped four Kurdish
          families from the village of Dalmeth
          Iran's state-run radio said food shortages and epi-
          demics were feared in the predominately Kurdish
          city of Mahabad 35 miles south of Naqadeh because
          of a large influx of Kurdish refugees driven out of
          their homes by the Turks Earlier the radio had re-
          ported that the water of a river flowing through
          Naqadeh was polluted and should not be used for
          drinking. Theie was speculation that victims of the
          Naqadeh fighting had been dumped into the river
          A doctor who arrived in Tehran from Mahabad
          today was quoted as saying an entire Kurdish vii
          lage was wiped out in the recent fighting and that
          the border between Iran's Kurdistan and West Azer
          baijan provinces is “very tense”
          “Mahabad is normal but arms are in wide circula-
          tion” he told reporters. “Every Kurd above the age
          of 14 is armed everybody”
          The doctor added, “Every Kurd seems to be in
          shape for battle any time of the day or night
          People are selling then carpets, pots and pans to
          buy aimS,” lie said Soviet made Kalashnikov auto-
          matic rifles were going for a little more than $100
          apiece.
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