THE US and Britain yesterday abandoned an attempt to secure a UN Security Council condemnation of the Iraqi incursion into Kurdish zones of northern Iraq, faced with a Russian veto threat.
The US ambassador to the UN, Ms Madeleine Albright, speaking after a closed door meeting, said the Security Council had "ceased consultations" on a draft resolution after four days of fruitless negotiations on a text put forward by Britain.
Russia wanted the draft to criticise "the use of force" in Iraq which would also refer to retaliatory missile strikes ordered by the US after Iraqi forces penetrated an allied protected Kurdish zone in northern Iraq.
But the US insisted the resolution should only refer to Iraqi forces to ensure that they would keep out of the northern safe haven in future.
In Washington, the US Defence Secretary, Mr William Perry, said developments in northern Iraq had been generally positive, citing the withdrawal of Iraqi mechanised and armoured forces to the south.
Mr Perry also said Turkish forces were not involved in the clashes in northern Iraq between rival Kurdish groups.
Asked whether he was satisfied with Iraq's response to US pressure. Mr Perry said: "So far, so good."
In northern Iraq yesterday, fighters from the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) clashed with members of another Kurdish group, gaining ground on a road leading to their rival's stronghold.
Around 700 KDP fighters struck positions of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the Kochtapa Bistana region, near the village of Degala, according to Mr Nazar Ghafoor of the PUK.
He claimed they were supported by some 150 Iraqi tanks and Iraqi troops, but both US and UN officials said there was no evidence the Iraqi army had played an active role in the latest fighting.
In Ankara, senior Turkish leaders yesterday discussed details of a plan to create a security zone along the Iraqi border to prevent infiltration by separatist Turkish Kurds.
Earlier this week, Turkish authorities unveiled a plan for the creation of a thin security zone on the Iraqi side of their border to counter military activities by the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The Turkish plan has won backing from the US and the KDP, but has been condemned by Iraq.
. An Islamic fundamentalist conference in London tomorrow which has been condemned by several Arab countries, has been cancelled by the organisers for "security reasons."