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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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