Barzani in Cairo over Turkish troops

Massoud Barzani, who also heads the Kurdistan Democratic Party, is heading a delegation of five KDP members for talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Mahir, intelligence chief Umar Sulayman, and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa.

An Arab League official said on condition of anonymity that Barzani, who arrived in Cairo from Kuwait, was expected to discuss Turkey’s planned deployment of 10,000 peacekeeping troops to Iraq.

The Iraqi Governing Council has rejected the Turkish proposal, expressing fears that peacekeepers from neighbouring countries could end up interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs.

Turkey has long battled against its Kurdish minority, who are fighting for an independent homeland, and Kurds in northern Iraq fear that Turkish troops could turn on them.

Turkey agreed this week to send troops to Iraq, becoming the first Muslim country to do so without requiring the USt to first turn control over to the United Nations.

The move is a marked change of policy from earlier this year.

When about 1000 Turkish soldiers crossed the border in March, augmenting the several thousands Turkey maintains there to pursue Turkish Kurd guerrillas, the Americans were irritated.

Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, said at the time, "We have special forces units connected to Kurdish forces in the north … and you can be certain that we have advised the Turkish government and the Turkish armed forces that it would be notably unhelpful if they went into the north in large numbers."