3 May 2020 - 23:32

Two Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK

<p style="text-align: left;">Two Turkish soldiers were killed and four injured on Saturday in clashes between the military and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Bitlis, Interior Ministry said.

According to Ahval news the ministry said the soldiers were killed during a military operation in the Sehi neighborhood of Bitlis against the PKK, which has led an insurgency against Turkey in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984.

Then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2012 announced the start of formal negotiations to end a PKK insurgency that has killed 40,000 people since 1984. PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan announced a ceasefire in 2013.

Violence in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast has surged after the ceasefire collapsed in 2015, leaving the three-year peace process in tatters and reviving the conflict.

Heavy fighting between Turkish forces and groups affiliated with the PKK left urban centers in Turkey’s southeast in ruins, with civilians trapped in their homes under strict curfews.

Reporter’s code: 50101

News Code 107905