Monday, April 09, 2007
Turkish officials say PKK killed three soldiers
Security, Turkey
(VOA) - Turkish officials say two soldiers and a government-paid village guard were killed in a clash with Kurdish rebels. They say the fighting erupted in Sirnak province late Saturday. At least three other soldiers have been killed since Friday, including one who was killed by a landmine. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has been fighting Turkey for autonomy since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives. The group called for a ceasefire in October, but Turkey rejected it.
COMMENT: This could be the trigger that will push Turkey to attack the PKK in northern Iraq, something they have threatened to do for a long time. Their troops are on the alert and ready to go.
The PKK is a Marxist separatist group that until recently sought to create an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey and parts of neighboring countries inhabited by Kurds. (It’s known as the PKK after its Kurdish name, Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan.) During a rebellion that began in the mid-1980s and claimed some 35,000 lives, the group used guerrilla warfare and terrorism, including kidnappings of foreign tourists in Turkey, suicide bombings, and attacks on Turkish diplomatic offices in Europe. The PKK has also repeatedly attacked civilians who refuse to assist it.
A crushing Turkish military crackdown and the February 1999 capture of the PKK’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, have led the group’s 5,000 fighters to withdraw to northern Iraq and its leadership to renounce armed struggle and reconstitute itself as a political party. But the Turkish government, which does not recognize its Kurdish minority as distinct from other Turks, continues to regard the PKK as a terrorist group. The United States—one of Turkey’s NATO allies—lists the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization. COMMENT ENDS.
A crushing Turkish military crackdown and the February 1999 capture of the PKK’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, have led the group’s 5,000 fighters to withdraw to northern Iraq and its leadership to renounce armed struggle and reconstitute itself as a political party. But the Turkish government, which does not recognize its Kurdish minority as distinct from other Turks, continues to regard the PKK as a terrorist group. The United States—one of Turkey’s NATO allies—lists the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: PKK, Sirnak province, Turkey
