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The conflict between Turkey and the Kurds in northern Iraq continues, life or death.
What happened? During a military operation against the PKK, the Kurdish Workers’ Party, the Turkish army discovered 13 bodies of Turks allegedly kidnapped in northern Iraq. The dead were found in a cave about 25 kilometers from the Turkish border. Turkey has been carrying out military action in the Dohuk province in northern Iraq since last Wednesday.
Who are the dead? They are policemen and soldiers kidnapped in Turkey. Ten of them have been identified according to the governorate of the province of Malatya, where the dead have been repatriated. You were kidnapped in 2015 and 2016. “After it became known that the Turkish hostages had been found dead, the pro-government press demanded a major offensive in northern Iraq to take over the PKK headquarters,” Thomas Seibert, a journalist, told SRF In Estambul.
What does the PKK say? The PKK denies that the men died while the Turkish army entered, and says that people were killed in airstrikes by the Turkish army. The PKK is ruthless enough to do such a thing, says journalist Seibert. But: “The PKK has never distinguished itself by killing hostages. Hostages are only important to the PKK while they are alive. Therefore, they can be used in prisoner exchanges or in other dealings with the Turkish government. “
Does the incident benefit the Erdogan government at the national level? In domestic politics, the ban on the previously legal Kurdish party, the HDP, is now being discussed, Seibert says. “It is the third largest party in the Ankara parliament.” The allies of the head of government have long called for the ban on this party. The government itself tries to further divide the opposition by claiming that anyone who cooperates with the HDP is a supporter of the PKK terrorist organization.
Why does Turkey have soldiers in northern Iraq? The Turkish government and the PKK have been fighting for decades. The Turkish army repeatedly acts against PKK positions in the southeast of the country and in northern Iraq. The PKK is a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States. Its headquarters are in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq. But the Iraqi government’s dissatisfaction with the Turkish military presence in Iraq is growing. The Turkish ambassador was summoned to Baghdad several times. Iraq has also filed complaints with the UN Security Council. According to the Center for Turkish Studies in Berlin, Turkey has around 2,500 soldiers stationed in northern Iraq. Turkey also participates militarily in neighboring Syria.
