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TUNCELI, Turkey, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Turkish
troops killed seven Kurdish rebels in an operation
in the east of the country (Kurdistan) on
Thursday, a military source told Reuters.
Clashes between Turkish security forces and the
banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have increased
since the rebels called off a five-year unilateral
ceasefire in 2004.
The military source said the army airlifted more
than 500 troops overnight onto the Munzur Mountains
on the borders of the eastern Tunceli and Erzincan
provinces, after discovering a group of 20 to 30 PKK
rebels.
"Clashes are continuing and the operation is
ongoing," the source said. He said seven rebels had
been killed so far.
Tension has been rising among Turkey's restive Kurds
this week with demonstrations across the mainly
Kurdish southeast in support of Abdullah Ocalan, the
PKK leader jailed for life as the sole inmate in an
island prison in the Sea of Marmara.
Turkish leaders have accused Kurdish parties of
trying to incite violence and bring the issue of
Kurdish rights onto the agenda as the European Union
prepares to start accession talks with Turkey on
Oct. 3.
More than 30,000 people, most of them Kurds, have
been killed since the PKK began its campaign for a
separate homeland in 1984.
Reuters
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