The Defence Regions of Medya- Qendil Mountains: The Kurdish Defence Forces (HPG) declared in a statement that the Turkish Army attempted to launch cross-border attacks in 6th May but they were confronted with the Kurdish Defence Forces. The confrontation resulted in death of 15 Turkish soldiers as well as two Kurdish guerrillas.
According to HPG’s statement the Turkish army launched a range of cross-border operations aimed at annihilating the Kurdish resistance movement. “Prior to the offensive they had extensively shelled and bombarded the region of Horamar. That was followed by ranges of ground operations that were confronted with our forces in Carcella and after a heavy battle three Turkish soldiers were killed. That was followed by other battles in the regions of Geper and Shehid Shigar which resulted in death of another three Turkish soldiers, HPG statement said”
HPG also claimed that in the third day of the ground operations, a heavy battle began which resulted in death of 9 Turkish Special Forces.
HPG claimed as the result of these battles 15 Turkish soldiers as well as 2 Kurdish freedom fighters have been killed.
The Kurdish Defence Forces is the military wing of the Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK).
The PKK has long called on Turkey to halt their military operations and engage in dialogue with the Kurdish side to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in a war-torn country. The PKK declared unilateral ceasefire in March 2009 and protracted it four times to open doors for a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem. In 2009 the PKK also sent two peaces groups to Turkey to push through the jammed political procedures. But the Turkish Authorities are adamant in their classical policies of denial and the eradication of the Kurds within which they have continued military operations in Kurdistan.
The Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK) was founded in 1973 as the result of the continuous and systematic oppressions and the denial of the Kurdish nation by the occupying powers of Kurdistan. The PKK took up arm in 1984 since all the possible political and diplomatic means applied for 11 years in between 1973-84 proved exhausted. The PKK however declared its first unilateral ceasefire in 1993 since it believed the arm struggle hit its targets. Since 1993 to date the PKK has declared 6 unilateral ceasefires in 6 different occasions and called upon Ankara to solve the Kurdish problem in a peaceful democratic procedure.
Despite the facts that the PKK has declared 6 unilateral ceasefires and also it sent peace groups in two different occasions yet the PKK is considered as a ‘terrorist’ organization by Ankara and the US. It also continues to be on the blacklist in EU despite the court ruling, which overturned the decision to place the Kurdish freedom movement on the EU’s terror list “By labelling PKK as a terrorist organisation, the EU and the US are giving the Turkey a green light to target its civilians. They give the Turkish government a free hand to do what it will, a mother of Kurdish martyr said”.
It should be noted that after 1954, apart from the Korean war, 1949-52 and the invasion of Cyprus, 1974, the Turkish Army operations have continued to be exclusively against the Kurds.