US embassy cable - 03ADANA80

UNCLAS ADANA 0080 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/NGA AND PRM 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, TU, ADANA 
SUBJECT:  POPULATION MOVEMENT IN NORTHERN 
          IRAQ NOT TOWARD TURKEY 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary:  According to contacts in 
southeastern Turkey, population movements in 
northern Iraq in anticipation of war are not 
toward the Turkish border.  Rather, those on the 
move are generally seeking to leave cities for 
the perceived safety of villages higher up in the 
hills.  The Habur gate is calm for now.  End 
summary. 
 
 
2.  (SBU)  With the situation in northern Iraq 
quite fluid, we offer the following information 
relayed to us on March 18 by various contacts in 
southeastern Turkey. 
 
 
Hakkari 
:::::::::::: 
 
 
3.   (SBU)  The mayor of Hakkari and one of our 
Hakkari human-rights contacts both confirm that 
they have received no information about refugees 
heading toward Hakkari province's border with 
Iraq.   That border is covered with snow, they 
note. Their contacts in northern Iraq have spoken 
of internal refugee movements within northern 
Iraq only. 
 
 
Sirnak 
:::::::::: 
 
 
4.  (SBU)  The UNHCR Coordinator in Silopi, who 
has been travelling extensively, said he had 
neither seen nor heard of refugee movement toward 
the Turkish border for now.  He believed the 
pattern of internal movement inside northern Iraq 
consists of people leaving cities (notably Mosul 
and Dohuk) for the countryside, particularly the 
mountains.  The migrants' logic is that cities 
are perceived as more likely to be attacked. 
Sirnak province's Habur gate between Turkey and 
Iraq is very calm at the moment, he said, 
something that was confirmed by an oil-trader in 
Silopi who has good contacts in northern Iraq. 
HOLTZ