Turkey’s military and civilian leaders signaled growing frustration with the US and Iraq on Tuesday over their role in the fight against Kurdish rebels after a new attack on a Turkish base killed 15.
More than 80 Turkish soldiers have been killed in fighting so far this year, exceeding last year’s death toll, most of them after Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) separatist guerrillas ended a 14-month ceasefire at the start of last month.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, under pressure to contain escalating violence that threatens to hurt its popularity in a general vote set by July next year, has repeatedly called for greater support from Iraq and the US to combat the PKK, which has bases in northern Iraq.
In the latest fighting, PKK rebels attacked an army outpost in southeast Turkey overnight, triggering a clash in which 12 rebels and three soldiers were killed, security sources said.
“These terror camps within the borders of Iraq, in northern Iraq, are unacceptable. We have demanded this from Iraq and the United States. The time for words is over. It is time for action now,” Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay told a news conference.
Striking a similar note, the head of the Turkish armed forces warned that the PKK presence in Iraq could harm ties with its neighbor and with the US if action is not taken to curb the militants’ activities in northern Iraq.
“The time has come and is passing for those responsible — the people, institutions, states and formations in northern Iraq — to do what is right,” Turkish General Ilker Basbug was reported as saying in an interview with Star TV. “The presence of the PKK in northern Iraq will have a negative impact on Turkish-Iraqi relations in the coming period. In a sense, it will negatively affect Turkish-US relations.”
Washington provides intelligence on PKK movements to Ankara.
The increased violence has undermined an attempt by Erdogan’s government to boost Kurdish minority rights and end a 26-year separatist conflict.
Military helicopters flew in troop reinforcements to search for the remaining rebels who launched the overnight attack in Semdinli district of Hakkari Province, near the Iraqi border.
Three soldiers were also wounded in the fighting.
The army operation was focused on the area around the Iraqi border, across which the militants cross from bases in northern Iraq to attack the Turkish military.
In a separate clash, one rebel was killed and six soldiers wounded on Monday evening after rebels opened fire on security forces at a military outpost in the eastern province of Elazig.
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