|
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 14 (AFP) - 15h59 -
Three Turkish soldiers and several armed Kurdish
rebels were killed Thursday in a clash near the town
of Pervari, in the southeastern province of Siirt,
security sources and media reported Thursday.
One television news network said as many as 21
rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
may have died in the fighting, but official
confirmation was not immediately available.
A security sweep in the region is under way, the
sources said.
The PKK waged a bloody campaign for self-rule in
southeastern Turkey between 1984 and 1999. The
conflict claimed more than 36,000 lives and was the
source of accusations of gross human rights
violations on both sides.
The PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire in 1999
after its leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured and
tried in Turkey, but it called off the truce last
year, raising tensions in the region.
The PKK, which changed its name twice in three years
to revert to its original name 10 days ago, is
listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the
United States and the European Union.
AFP
10 Kurdish rebels, 3 Turkish soldiers killed in
clash - Reuters
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 14 (Reuters) - Turkish
troops killed at least 10 Kurdish rebels in a clash
in southeast Turkey and three soldiers died in the
fighting on Thursday, military sources told Reuters.
Some media reports said as many as 21 Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas died in the
firefight, which took place in the Besta area
bordering Sirnak and Siirt provinces.
The military launched an operation backed by
helicopters in pursuit of the militants.
The PKK has increased attacks on security forces
since June 2004 when it called off a unilateral
ceasefire. Violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast
had subsided since 1999 when PKK leader Abdullah
Ocalan was captured and jailed.
More than 30,000 people, mainly Kurds, have been
killed since 1984 when the PKK took up arms against
the Turkish state in a campaign to carve out an
ethnic homeland in the southeast.
Reuters
Top |
® 