[🇹🇷] Turkey vs PKK

Saif · Sep 3, 2024

Turkey launches fresh air strikes on PKK in N Iraq
Agence France-Presse . Istanbul 03 September, 2024, 21:03

Iraqi security forces and residents check the debris of a Turkish drone that the military said it downed over Kirkuk, on August 29, 2024, as Ankara kept up its operations against Kurdish militants inside Iraq. | AFP photo

Turkey said on Tuesday it had launched fresh air strikes on what it said were Kurdish militants in the mountains of northern Iraq.

The defence ministry said it had struck ‘20 targets’ in Asos, Gara, Hakurk, Metina, Qandil and Zap.

It alleged they were ‘caves, bunkers, shelters, depots and installations’ used by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has waged an on-off insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is blacklisted as a ‘terrorist organisation’ by Ankara and its Western allies.

The Turkish army, whose incursions onto Iraqi soil are regularly condemned by Baghdad, said it had killed ‘numerous’ militants in its latest assault.

On Saturday, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was determined to ‘eliminate’ separatists, arguing that they were a threat to both his country and Iraq.

The PKK has a number of rear bases in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.

For the past quarter century, Turkey has maintained dozens of its own bases there.

Lulldapull · Sep 4, 2024

The US and the EU back the PKK bhai.

Turkey knows this all too well but is a weakling.

Iran/Russia cut off their oil n gas, turkey will just get roasted.

Turkey is not viable as a state. They’re almost a trillion in debt to the West.

LegionnairE · Sep 4, 2024

Lulldapull said:
The US and the EU back the PKK bhai.

Turkey knows this all too well but is a weakling.

Iran/Russia cut off their oil n gas, turkey will just get roasted.

Turkey is not viable as a state. They’re almost a trillion in debt to the West.

Lol what a load of horseshit.

Have you any idea how deep into Iraq Turkish army has penetrated? PKK inside Turkey is done for. And PKK in Iraq is slowly dying. In Syria's flat terrain they have no place to hide. And you think a single downed drone makes a difference

Lulldapull · Sep 4, 2024

LegionnairE said:
Lol what a load of horseshit.

Have you any idea how deep into Iraq Turkish army has penetrated? PKK inside Turkey is done for. And PKK in Iraq is slowly dying. In Syria's flat terrain they have no place to hide. And you think a single downed drone makes a difference

The US and Israel will keep backing the Al-Gurdish terrorists. They won’t back down until Israel goes under. When the money dries up. KRG is totally US backed.

LegionnairE · Sep 4, 2024

Lulldapull said:
The US and Israel will keep backing the Al-Gurdish terrorists. They won’t back down until Israel goes under. When the money dries up. KRG is totally US backed.

No amount of support will save them.

Lulldapull · Sep 4, 2024

LegionnairE said:
No amount of support will save them.

That depends upon Iran, not you!......You know right?

LegionnairE · Sep 4, 2024

Lulldapull said:
That depends upon Iran, not you!......You know right?

Lol Iran couldn't even find the corpse of their leader without Turkey's help.

you amuse me

Lulldapull · Sep 4, 2024

LegionnairE said:
Lol Iran couldn't even find the corpse of their leader without Turkey's help. you amuse me

If you say so.

Saif · Jul 11, 2025

Kurdish PKK militants burn weapons in Iraq to launch disarmament

Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Kurdish PKK militants burn weapons in Iraq to launch disarmament

REUTERS
Published :
Jul 11, 2025 23:08
Updated :
Jul 11, 2025 23:08

Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, Jul 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. Photo : KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS

Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.

Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers and other guns into a large grey cauldron. Flames later engulfed the black gun shafts pointed to the sky, as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish officials watched nearby.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Turkey and the wider region.

President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the PKK's dissolution would bolster Turkish security and regional stability. "May God grant us success in achieving our goals on this path we walk for the security of our country, the peace of our nation, and the establishment of lasting peace in our region," he said on X.

Friday's ceremony was held at the entrance of the Jasana cave in the town of Dukan, 60km (37 miles) northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq's north.

The fighters, in beige military fatigues, were flanked by four commanders including senior PKK figure Bese Hozat, who read a statement in Turkish declaring the group's decision to disarm.

"We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination," she said, before another commander read the same statement in Kurdish.

Helicopters hovered overhead, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the mountainous area, a Reuters witness said.

The ceremony was attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government and senior members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role this year facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

It was unclear when further handovers would take place.

A senior Turkish official said the arms handover marked an "irreversible turning point" in the peace process, while another government source said ensuing steps would include the legal reintegration of PKK members into society in Turkey and efforts to heal communities and promote reconciliation.

WIDER SIGNIFICANCE

The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Turkey's southeastern frontier in recent years. Turkey's military carries out regular strikes on PKK bases in the region and established several military outposts there.

The end of NATO member Turkey's conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighbouring Syria where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot.

Washington and Ankara want those Kurds to quickly integrate with Syria's security structure, which has been undergoing reconfiguration since the fall in December of autocratic President Bashar al-Assad. PKK disarmament could add to this pressure, analysts say.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Erdogan's government to address Kurdish demands for more rights in regions where Kurds form a majority, particularly Turkey's southeast where the insurgency was concentrated.

In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan - whose large image was shown at the weapons ceremony - also urged Turkey's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the ceremony marked a first step toward full disarmament and a "terror-free Turkey", adding this must be completed "in a short time".

Erdogan has said the disarmament will enable the rebuilding of Turkey's southeast.

Turkey spent nearly $1.8 trillion over the past five decades combating terrorism, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said.

Lulldapull · Jul 11, 2025

Saif said:
Kurdish PKK militants burn weapons in Iraq to launch disarmament

Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Kurdish PKK militants burn weapons in Iraq to launch disarmament

REUTERS
Published :
Jul 11, 2025 23:08
Updated :
Jul 11, 2025 23:08

View attachment 19917
Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, Jul 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. Photo : KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS

Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.

Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers and other guns into a large grey cauldron. Flames later engulfed the black gun shafts pointed to the sky, as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish officials watched nearby.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Turkey and the wider region.

President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the PKK's dissolution would bolster Turkish security and regional stability. "May God grant us success in achieving our goals on this path we walk for the security of our country, the peace of our nation, and the establishment of lasting peace in our region," he said on X.

Friday's ceremony was held at the entrance of the Jasana cave in the town of Dukan, 60km (37 miles) northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq's north.

The fighters, in beige military fatigues, were flanked by four commanders including senior PKK figure Bese Hozat, who read a statement in Turkish declaring the group's decision to disarm.

"We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination," she said, before another commander read the same statement in Kurdish.

Helicopters hovered overhead, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the mountainous area, a Reuters witness said.

The ceremony was attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government and senior members of Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role this year facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

It was unclear when further handovers would take place.

A senior Turkish official said the arms handover marked an "irreversible turning point" in the peace process, while another government source said ensuing steps would include the legal reintegration of PKK members into society in Turkey and efforts to heal communities and promote reconciliation.

WIDER SIGNIFICANCE

The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Turkey's southeastern frontier in recent years. Turkey's military carries out regular strikes on PKK bases in the region and established several military outposts there.

The end of NATO member Turkey's conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighbouring Syria where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot.

Washington and Ankara want those Kurds to quickly integrate with Syria's security structure, which has been undergoing reconfiguration since the fall in December of autocratic President Bashar al-Assad. PKK disarmament could add to this pressure, analysts say.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Erdogan's government to address Kurdish demands for more rights in regions where Kurds form a majority, particularly Turkey's southeast where the insurgency was concentrated.

In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan - whose large image was shown at the weapons ceremony - also urged Turkey's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the ceremony marked a first step toward full disarmament and a "terror-free Turkey", adding this must be completed "in a short time".

Erdogan has said the disarmament will enable the rebuilding of Turkey's southeast.

Turkey spent nearly $1.8 trillion over the past five decades combating terrorism, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said.

This is like our baloch/ pashto militants surrendering bhai. Stage managed muzlim convert propaganda.

Nothing will come out of it.

Bullshiit on CIA/ Mossad payroll ex-muzlim Al-Baqistan and AL-Turkiya no?

Converts need to officially change their religions.

@Vsdoc

We got ourselves a problem here.......