Kurds besiege gendarmes in border post

          
          5/27/2011
          Article - Untitled Article
          Publication: Guardian 1821-2000; Date: Oct II, 1979; Section: None; Page:6
          Kurds besiege
          gendármes in
          border post
          Frni Liz Thurgood
          iii Tebran
          The Iranian Government
          announceth-rww plans to crush
          the Kurdish rebels yesterday
          after it reported that 50
          gentrmes jiad been mapped
          inside their border post since
          an attack by some 400 ICurds
          on Tuesday n{ght.
          All radio contact had been
          lost with ihe post at 1-lani Gar-
          maich and the Kurds were re-
          potied to bD in wut a'Ol of key
          highways.
          The siege, and the mas-
          sacre of 52 Islamic guardsmen
          earlier this week, appeared to
          have taken the Government by
          surprise. As Shi'a Iran went
          into mourning 1 the—Befence,
          Minister, Mostafa Cha'mrzrn,
          left for Kurdestan lo “coor-
          dinate th flah•tLiJl ” and the
          anned forces clidef of staff,
          General Hosseliv S it a k e r,
          announced that plans to crush
          the insurgents would go into
          operation “within the nert two
          absence of their leaders, Dr
          Gbasseinlou and Shelkh Ezzru-
          dine il osselni, who are both
          wanted men.
          This fighting marked the
          first major action since early
          September, when the ICurdish
          rebels lost key urban venkrtm
          i•n a crackdown ordered by
          Ayatollah Xhomeifli,
          The bazaars in Qum and
          Tehran closed yesterday and
          Eslahan, traditionally a reU-
          gious city 4 declared a two-day
          mourning period for those who
          died in The ambush. De-
          monstrations were also held in
          several cities, jncludlng
          Tehr.an.
          Events surrounding the mas-
          sacre were still confused yes-
          tcrday. Reports in the local
          press suggests that several
          guardsmen might have been
          victims of the armed forces.
          The guards. officially called
          “the guardians of the Islamic
          lievolution,” are a paramilitary
          force raised from young and in-
          experienced Moslem volunteers
          when Ayatolbh Khomelwi
          came to power.
          Highlighting possible differ-
          ences between the guards and
          the armed forces, I he Defence
          Minister and the Chief of Staff
          _______ bave claimed that a contingent
          of gua nds men moved out of
          Sardasht without informing the
          local garrison and agawst
          Army advice. This was denied
          by ‘a guardsman who said that
          his men had been lired at by
          soldiers passing Through the
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          5/27/2011 Article - Untitled Article
          The_siege, coupled with spot- area.
          adic tuacKs on at least three In an interview with the
          other border posis nd a niic- Islamic Republic, a claUy con-
          rowave communications tower sidored to he the mouthpiece
          overMght. appeared to be a of Qoin, the guard elathied that
          continuation of the Kurdish an Army c 01 U m n had
          guerrilla offensive that started approached the area, heard
          on Sunday when the 52 shooting and, thinking it had
          guardsmen were killed tn an come under fire, shot back.
          ambush outsMe the border The guardsmen were forced
          town of S;rdasht. back bile the hills where the
          The offensive was originally, attack by the Kurds continued 1
          expected in the winter 1 still six he said.
          weeks away.
          One result of the violence
          has been an indefinite post
          ponemen'L, announced eariier
          this week, of elections for peo-
          ple's councils in eight Kurdish
          towns. The councils had been
          prDpOsed by the Islam ic regime
          to give the Kurds more say in
          handling their own aifatrs.
          Sources here have said that
          The ICurds refused to cooperate
          with Tebran because of the
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