GENEVA - The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern on Tuesday over escalating tensions along the Turkish-Iraqi border, noting that Iraq's northern region was already home to more than 800,000 displaced people.
Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said disruption in the border area threatened to further uproot people in the "least insecure part" of Iraq.
"UNHCR is worried about ongoing instability that could lead to further displacement," he told a Geneva press briefing. "We are watching the situation very closely."
Turkey has vowed military action in northern Iraq unless Iraqi and U.S. forces crack down on Kurdish guerrillas in the region. The separatist fighters killed at least a dozen Turkish soldiers in fighting over the weekend.
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