Turkey orders troops to enter border territories

Fears that Turkey will seize northern Iraq were heightened last night after Ankara authorised its troops to enter Kurdish areas on its borders.

The Turkish parliament approved a government motion allowing the military deployment as it finally gave the go-ahead for American warplanes to use its air space.

Officials did not rule out a further motion in the next few days allowing US forces to use Turkish bases as a launch pad for a northern front.

The Kurds have long been campaigning for an independent state made up of territory from northern Iraq, southern Turkey and north-western Iran. Kurdish separatists have been brutally repressed for decades.

The prospect of Turkish troops entering Iraqi Kurdistan would contradict repeated assurances from George Bush and Tony Blair that Iraq's "territorial integrity" would be a priority in any conflict.

Mr Blair said this week that Turkey had told him it was "committed to not taking action against Kurdish administrative areas in Iraq". Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, telephoned his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday to make a similar point and the Ministry of Defence yesterday called in the Turkish ambassador to underline the message.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said last night: "We call on the Turkish government to continue working with coalition partners and relevant agencies to maintain the stability of the region."

Iraqi Kurds are likely to fight any incursion but are certain to be overpowered by the Turkish army. The autonomous region was created at the end of the 1991 Gulf War, but has long caused resentment in Ankara. Turkey fears the Iraqi Kurds want to set up an independent state after the war, which could encourage Turkey's Kurdish minority to do the same.

Ankara approved a government motion to allow US jets to fly over the country. The move also authorises the government to send Turkish troops into north Iraq. But as if to underline USdispleasure at not being allowed to use bases in Turkey, the US said a $30bn (£19bn) loan deal was "not on the table" any longer.

Nato promised to defend Turkey if it comes under attack from Iraq in response to the US-led assault.Lord Robertson, Nato secretary general, said the Allies "expressed their determination to continue to fulfil their treaty obligations to a member nation".