ANKARA, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Deputy Chief of the Turkish General Staff General Ilker Basbug Wednesday described as "worrying"alleged efforts by Kurds to change the demographic structure of theoil rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election.

    Speaking to reporters, Basbug said that the shifting of tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds into Kirkuk could alter the out come of the ballot.

    "According to reports from 1991 to 2000, some 100,000 to 120,000 people left Kirkuk, not all of them Kurds are 100,000 to 120,000,"he said, adding that "it is said that the number of Kurds arrivingis around 300,000."

    Apart from putting the result of the election in Kirkuk into question, such moves could create a great security problem for the region and Turkey, Basbug said.

    The Turkish Armed Forces are closely monitoring the developments, and Turkey hoped for a fair and unifying result from the Iraqi elections, he said.

    On the presence of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, Basbug said that the US forces had not made the political decision to fight the PKK.

    Turkey would do what it took to ensure the country's security,he said, adding that it had the power to do so.He said that the army's priority was to fight fundamentalism and separatist organizations.

    The PKK, which wants to establish an independent Kurdish statein southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, launched an armed campaign against the Turkish government in 1984.

    Fighting subdued significantly in 1999 when Turkey captured PKK commander Abdullah Ocalan, but the group called off its unilateralceasefire in 2004, threatening to wreck the fragile peace.

    The Turkish government refuses to negotiate with the PKK, which it deems as a terrorist organization. Enditem