The center said in a statement that it has direct telephone line and fax communication with the crisis centers in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir, Sirnak, Batman, Mardin and Hakkari.

It noted that the Turkish Red Crescent is in the region with 288personnel, one mobile clinic, 61 vehicles, 10,533 tents, 123,480 blankets, and other equipment to serve 50,000 refugees.

Representatives from 16 ministries and state institutions work in the Government Crisis Management Center, which started to work on March 18.

More than 500,000 Iraqi refugees flooded into Turkey during the Gulf War in 1991, triggered by Iraq's invasion of it neighbor Kuwait.

Early Thursday, the United States started a long-anticipated war on Iraq, which was accused by US President George W. Bush of hiding and developing weapons of mass destruction.

Turkey is worried that the new Gulf war would cause another wave of refugees influx from northern Iraq into its territory.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday "Turkey does not want to experience this sorrowful experience once again."

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2003)