As a 11-year-old Turkoman boy and his father were killed in the oil-rich Kirkuk on Sunday, fear is growing among Turkomans that pressure exerted on them by the Kurds to leave the region would be intensified.

They are worried the peshmerges (Kurdish militia) of the Kurdishfactions may get the heavy weapons left by the Iraqi army deserts, thus increasing the imbalance of power in the region and intensifying the pressure on them.

The Kurds, who control most parts of northern Iraq, pressed the Turkomans to leave Kirkuk, but the Turkomans resisted and refused to immigrate.

The Kurdish groups are reported to be mounting pressure on Turkomans and to increase attacks systematically.

Hasan Ozmen, one of the leaders of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, said, "Turkomans are getting organized and militarized because of attacks by peshmerges after removal of the pressure from President Saddam Hussein."

"We shall have an Turkoman armed force of 10,000 people in a short period of time," he said, indicating that weapons are easy toget and a Kalashnikov is only worth 30 US dollars.

Ozmen said that the Kurdish attacks would force Turkomans and Iraqi Arabs to enter into collaboration. "It is necessary to acceptthe multi-ethnic structure of Mosul and Kirkuk and not try to change this structure," he urged.

Iraqi Turkoman is a minority in northern Iraq, second only to the Kurds. Speaking Turkish as mother tongue, Turkomans have calledon Turkey to intervene in the Kurdish attacks.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2003)