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Kurdish militants claim forest fires in
Turkey
23.8.2006
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ANKARA, August
23, 2006 , -- A radical Kurdish group said Wednesday
that they were behind a series of forest fires that
have ravaged large tracts of land in southern and
western Turkey since last week.
In a statement posted on its website, the Kurdistan
Freedom Falcons (TAK) said its members had started
the fires in 17 provinces in reprisal for what it
caled the "fascist policies" of Turkey against
Kurds.
The group threatened more forest fires and violence
unless Ankara changed its ways.
Nearly 100 forest fires have broken out in Turkey
since the weekend, destroying more than 2,000
hectares (5,000 acres) of land.
Hundreds of firefighters, backed by 10 helicopters,
were on Wednesday trying to extinguish a fire near
the bay of Gokova, a lush area under protection,
that has even threatened the nearby holiday resort
of Bodrum in the southwest of the country.
Authorities have yet to announce the cause of the
fires that coincided with a sweltering heat wave
pushing temperatures as high as 44 degrees Celsius
(111.2 Fahrenheit) in the region.
TAK has acknowledged responsibility for several
deadly bomb attacks in urban centers across Turkey
since last year and has also threatened to attack
tourist targets.
Turkish officials say the group is a front which the
separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) uses for
its attacks on civilian targets while the PKK claims
TAK is a splinter group over which it has no
control.
More than 37,000 people have been killed since 1984
when the PKK, blacklisted by Turkey, the United
States and the European Union, took up arms for
self-rule in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast.
Turkey accused PKK rebels of starting large forest
fires in the west of the country in mid 1990s, at
the height of the group's campaign.
Violence has escalated in the southeast since June
2004 when the PKK called off a unilateral ceasefire.
AFP
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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