Kurdish War: Rebels Reeling From Court Rulings

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September12, 2008: Turkish Kurds found a friend in the Turkish court's decision in favor of the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party). In recent elections the AKP sought Kurdish votes and got them. Infrastructure development in southeastern Turkey was one of the AKP's promises. Now Turkish pollsters report an increasing number of Kurds divided on so-called "Kurdish issues," based on whether or not they support the Democratic Society Party (DTP), a "pro-Kurd" political party. This may not be such a head scratcher - the DTP portrays itself as an ethnic advocate. However, Kurds who don't support the DTP tend to hold more "Turkish nationalist" views and downplay the "Kurdish problem" that PKK radicals say only Kurdish separatism will resolve.

September 11, 2008: The Turkish military has told media that the PKK is launching more attacks on civilians and local security personnel (ie, village guards). The Turkish military believes that the PKK is going after "softer" targets using only a handful of fighters because its ability to operate in larger numbers has been reduced. In this light, the PKK action on September 1 rates as a rather large-scale operation, with 20 PKK guerrillas involved in the attack and firefight. Turkish attacks on base areas in Iraq are one reason the PKK is having a tougher time supplying fighters and organizing larger attacks. Another reason? More "intelligence sharing" between the US and Turkey - which means sharing among the US, Turkey and Iraq.

September 6, 2008: PKK fighters killed three village guards in Hakkari province near the village of Cubuklu.

September 4, 2008: Turkish forces killed three PKK rebels in two firefights, one in Sirnak province the other in Hakkari province (southeastern Turkey).

September 1, 2008: PKK rebels attacked a military post in Bingol province. The PKK group used automatic weapons and "rockets" (likely rocket-propelled grenades) in the attack. Approximately 20 PKK guerrillas participated in the attack. Four Turkish security troops and two PKK rebels died in the firefight.

August 27, 2008: Turkish security forces killed two PKK rebels near the town of Mutki (Bitlis province).

August 26, 2008: In a series of firefights in southeastern Turkey, aoksuwea and paramilitary police killed 14 PKK rebels. The PKK also reportedly killed three village guards.

August 23, 2008: Turkish police arrested five people suspected of involvement in a terror bomb attack in the town of Konak. 16 people were injured in the bomb blast.

 

 

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