Turkey To Intensify Operations Against the Kurds

Ankara has started a new war campaign against Kurdish rebels in the country’s south-east and in Iraq. The moves come as President Erdogan vowed a crackdown on terror after Sunday’s attack in Ankara that killed at least 37 people.

Turkish warplanes bombed camps belonging to the PKK terrorist organization in northern Iraq early on Monday. Eleven warplanes (9 F-16 and 2 F-4) carried out the strikes on eighteen targets in the organization’s Gara and Qandil camps, including ammunition depots, shelters and other targets have been destroyed, the military said in an official statement.

Since the breach of the cease-fire in July 2015, the military has been conducting airstrikes on PKK camps in in Northern Iraq to terminate the threat the militants pose to Turkey.

Security forces have also been intensifying their operations in several districts of Turkey. Curfews have been imposed in two mainly Kurdish towns in south-eastern Turkey, Yuksekova and Nusaybin, as security operations are carried out against Kurdish militants. Another curfew is due to start in the city of Sirnak at 23:00 local time, Anadolu news agency reports.

Meanwhile Interior Minister Efkan Ala said an investigation would conclude on Monday and those responsible would be named. Turkish officials are going to complete investigation within 24 hours. Amazing speed!

Earlier SouthFront wrote that “security officials” casted the blame upon Kurds immediately after blast.

“It is high time to blame exactly Kurds of the Ankara terror attack to hide traces and hold back the truth of Erdogan’s war crimes in the east of the country.”

Today a new war campaign was started. Some 14 suspects, including 12 in the northwestern province of Eskişehir and two in Istanbul, have been detained. It’s very interesting to look at statement of Eskişehir Governor Güngöz Azmi Tuna about simultaneous operations in his province.

“The suspects were involved in terrorist propaganda and tried to embrace terrorists. They were involved in various actions … They are mostly from out of town,” Tuna said.

He also stated that “documents relating to illegal organizations” were seized during the raids but refrained from making a direct link between the suspects and the Ankara attack.  “We are looking into links,” Tuna added.

We could conclude that all persons detained only were supported the Kurdish point of view and were involved in pro-Kurdish information dissemination. Now officials “are looking into links”. But Interior Minister Efkan Ala has already signaled that links would be found today in any case.

Unfortunately Erdogan’s regime indeed is looking for a pretext to continue the genocide of the Kurdish people, not to conduct an impartial investigation of Ankara’s crime of terrorism.