13/01/2001

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- The brother of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was
wounded when two of his fighters tried to assassinate him in northern Iraq, a Turkish
newspaper said Saturday. The attackers and two guards were killed.

The two assailants, firing assault rifles and hurling hand grenades, slightly wounded
guerrilla commander Osman Ocalan in the leg during the attack Tuesday, Hurriyet
newspaper said.

The attack occurred after the brother of one of the assailants was executed for criticizing the
imprisoned Abdullah Ocalan, Hurriyet said.

It said the attack may also have been ordered by rivals of Osman Ocalan within the group.

Osman Ocalan has taken a more vocal position within the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or
PKK, guerrilla group since his brother Abdullah Ocalan was condemned to death in 1999
for leading the group in its battle for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey.

The group has since announced an end to its armed struggle and said it wants to gain
Kurdish rights through political means. Turkey has ignored the PKK's cease-fire and has
vowed to continue its fight until all rebels surrender or are killed.

The military says 4,500 rebels retreated to Iran and northern Iraq last year when the PKK
withdrew its fighters from Turkey.

The assassination attempt, near the rebel camp of Hirbab in northern Iraq, coincided with
unconfirmed reports of a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq to hunt down the rebel
leadership.

Turkey does not recognize the Kurds as a minority and bans teaching and broadcasts in the
Kurdish language.

Some 37,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed in clashes in the southeast since the
rebels took up arms in 1984.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com