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| The Grand Turk |
| Three soldiers killed in clashes with PKK in Hakkari |
| 2016-12-04 |
| Three soldiers were killed and six were wounded in an operation against outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the eastern province of Hakkari early on Dec. 2, Doğan News Agency has reported. Security sources said the casualties came from a clash in the Çukurca district of Hakkari between Turkish security forces and PKK militants in the Mount Güven area, close to Turkey’s border with Iraq. The clashes began at 06.40 am in the Güven Dağı Base zone after a PKK militant tried to infiltrate into the facility during heavy snow and foggy weather conditions. Howitzers positioned in the area started to fire on the militants, and as militants under the offensive started to retreat, Turkish Air Force jets struck the targets, killing seven militants and heavily wounding nine others. The nine injured were left at the scene after the attack, as security forces obtained the radio talk of fleeing militants who were instructed to leave the wounded by taking their weapons. Separately, four militants were “neutralized” after Turkey fired artillery rounds into Hakurk, northern Iraq, from the Şemdinli district of Hakkari. ARA news sez 30 Turkish soldiers died in the attack Cizre – Rebel fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) launched an offensive on a major Turkish army base in Hakkari Province, in southeastern Turkey, military sources reported on Saturday. The operation targeted Turkey’s military base in Çelê district in Hakkari, where the Kurdish rebels used mortar shells and heavy machine guns. At least 34 Turkish soldiers were reportedly killed in the attack. The PKK leadership said in a statement to ARA News that the offensive came in response to attacks by the Turkish army against Kurdish villages and towns in Hakkari Province. “Unless there is a political solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey, the armed conflict will continue and intensify,” Kurdish lawyer and human rights activist Omran Mansour told ARA News. “Turkey has eliminated all chances for dialogue with the Kurds, especially after arresting Kurdish MPs and members of the HDP [People’s Democratic Party],” he said. Mansour added that the recent PKK operations have been focused on the Turkish military and security bases. “However, we still support dialogue and peaceful negotiations to stop violations against human rights in the Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey,” he said. “But the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists to use force against Kurdish villages and towns, which will lead to a further intensification of violence across the country,” the Kurdish activist added. |
| Posted by:Steve White |