Kurds Syria

Turkey's parliament issued an ultimatum to Syria, demanding that it expel Turkish Kurdish rebels from its territory or "face the consequences." Turkish leaders accuse Syria of sheltering the rebels, who carry out cross-border attacks on Turkish territory. Syria denies the accusation, and Turkey's harsh rhetoric has triggered fears of a regional conflict.

The cleric had been missing for nearly a month when his family had a taste of relief: A man who identified himself as a government official approached the missing man's sons on the street and said, "You will hear happy news of your father." A few days later, state security agents took the sons to see the cleric. His thick beard, a badge of his religious devotion, had been hacked off. His body bore marks of torture -- broken teeth, badly burned skin. The cleric was dead.

Syrian Kurds on Wednesday buried five people they said had been shot by police Tuesday as they demonstrated to commemorate ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's 1988 chemical attacks on Kurds in Iraq. A truck flying a Kurdish flag followed a vehicle bearing the body of Ibrahim Mohammed, one of the five, through the small town of Afrin in northern Syria. People lined the route to the graveyard in a nearby village along streets scarred by scorch marks from tires burned in Tuesday's protest.

Syrian Kurds on Wednesday buried five people they said had been shot by police Tuesday as they demonstrated to commemorate ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's 1988 chemical attacks on Kurds in Iraq. A truck flying a Kurdish flag followed a vehicle bearing the body of Ibrahim Mohammed, one of the five, through the small town of Afrin in northern Syria. People lined the route to the graveyard in a nearby village along streets scarred by scorch marks from tires burned in Tuesday's protest.

The cleric had been missing for nearly a month when his family had a taste of relief: A man who identified himself as a government official approached the missing man's sons on the street and said, "You will hear happy news of your father." A few days later, state security agents took the sons to see the cleric. His thick beard, a badge of his religious devotion, had been hacked off. His body bore marks of torture -- broken teeth, badly burned skin. The cleric was dead.

Britain is deporting a number of Iraqi Kurds to Syria after rejecting their requests for political asylum, the British government said. London newspapers reported that a Kurdish woman and her 20-year-old son slashed their wrists when told of the decision. Reports on the number of Kurds affected varied from 12 to 13 to 25, and the Home Office declined to release a figure.

Meeting at the White House for the first time since the election, George Bush and Bill Clinton are said to have talked mainly about foreign affairs. The President-elect, with his mind on the domestic economy, might prefer not to think too much about the outside world. But he will not escape it, given the large number of ticking time-bombs that are Bush's parting gift to him. The most lethal of these may be the matter of the Iraqi Kurds.

AFRIN, Syria - This tranquil town in northwest Syria is a haven from the warfare convulsing much of the country, but the calm points to profound challenges facing the country - and the entire region - when the fighting ends. The laid-back guards at the checkpoints are Kurdish militiamen. The mustachioed man whose image greets visitors is Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in a Turkish prison for his leadership role in the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a group deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The Diyarbakir Rotary Club meets on Wednesdays at 6 p.m., a model of civility and hospitality. That puzzles some people. "We had 50 Rotarians out from Istanbul, and they gaped to find us in suits and ties. What did they expect? Funny hats and baggy pants?" asked Musa Ekinci, a young Diyarbakir contractor who once managed a Long John Silver's restaurant in Virginia.

For the past fortnight, television viewers around the globe have been treated to the nearly nightly spectacle of Kurds attacking embassies and consulates throughout Europe in a passionate if confused display of solidarity and protest over the capture of Kurd leader Abdullah Ocalan. First, Kurds occupied Greek and Kenyan facilities over the two countries' reported involvement in Ocalan's arrest by Turkish commandos in Nairobi on Feb. 15.

Turkey's parliament issued an ultimatum to Syria, demanding that it expel Turkish Kurdish rebels from its territory or "face the consequences." Turkish leaders accuse Syria of sheltering the rebels, who carry out cross-border attacks on Turkish territory. Syria denies the accusation, and Turkey's harsh rhetoric has triggered fears of a regional conflict.

Buffeted by criticism and demands for reform, Syrian President Bashar Assad opened his party congress Monday by sidestepping all mention of political change, pledging continued devotion to pan-Arab nationalism and calling modern technology a threat to Arab identity. The 39-year-old president had touted this week's Baath Party gathering as a turning point for a nation under pressure.