Turkish battle with Kurdish militants leaves 26 dead
Turkish soldiers and Kurdish militants clashed on Tuesday in the most intense battles of the separatist conflict this year, with 18 combatants killed in fighting at three army outposts in the southeast, officials and security sources said.
Ethnic groups in Turkey, 2011 photo/Sirwanii via wikimedia commons
Up to 100 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas launched simultaneous attacks against three military observation points inTurkey, killing eight soldiers and wounding 16, the sources said.
CNN reports that Turkey, the United States and the European Union have formally labeled the PKK a terrorist organization and Turkish President Abdullah Gul had harsh words after the group’s latest violence.
“I condemn this treacherous attack,” he said. “The terrorist organization is still carrying out its inhumane and bloody acts in an effort to sabotage the atmosphere of trust and stability, and to weaken the strong determination to reinforce peace, reach a resolution, achieve the reign of peace and tranquility, and to put a stop to the pain and tears.”
Turkey has been fighting the PKK since 1984.
Initially, the movement sought a separate homeland for Turkey’s ethnic Kurdish minority. But now, the rebels say they are instead fighting for more linguistic and cultural freedoms.
