Fighting against Kurds halted

Press, 28 November 1979, Page 8

Fighting against Kurds halted

NZPA-Reuter T eheran Iran’s armed forces have halted military operations in Kurdistan to help promote talks between the autonomyseeking Kurds and the Government, according to the official radio in Teheran. This met one demand of the Kurdistan ~>emocratic Party when it announced a 'conditional 20-day cease-fire on Monday. “Provided our forces are not attacked or harmed, the armed forces will cease military operations while talks for solving Kurdistan’s problems continue,” the armed forces’ statement said. But it said any show of arms that might endanger the security of the Kurdish people would be decisively prevented. “Aggression against military camps inside or outside the cities will not be tolerated either,” the statement added. The government is now expected to act on another Kurdish demand — the withdrawal of the unpopular Islamic Revolutionary Guards from all Kurdish areas within 15 days. The Kurdish cease-fire came after a second visit to Kurdistan, in western Iran, by a government good-will mission last week for negotiations with the Kurdish leaders. A cease-fire has been in force for about a month. It came after the mission’s first visit to the area after bitter fighting between the army-backed guards and the Kurds.