Live
Audio Only
The Turkish Army has killed 35 Kurdish troops from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, following an attempted attack on the Turkish military base in the southeastern province of Hakkari, Military officials said Saturday.
RELATED:
Turkey's State of Emergency Nothing New for the Kurds
The fighters attempted to take the Turkish military base in three different groups, but 23 were killed in an air operation following their detection. Another four PKK fighters were killed in a ground operation, military officials said.
The overnight attack followed battles between Turkish soldiers and members of the PKK in Hakkari's Cukurca district that left eight PKK fighters dead, and 25 Turkish fighters dead.
Since the July 15-16 failed military coup Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's government has undertaken a wide reaching purge of political opponents and coup supporters in an attempt to tighten its grip on power.
On Thursday, the armed forces were purged, with around 1,700 military personnel dishonorably discharged for their alleged support of the failed coup, of those discharged, 149 were either generals or admirals. Close to 40 percent of all generals and admirals in the military were subsequently discharged.
The PKK has been in conflict with the Turkish military since 1984 and more than 40,000 people are thought to have been killed in the conflict. A ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed last year, causing widespread violence in the predominantly kurdish southeast, with the military carrying out airstrikes. A political branch of the PKK, the KCK labelled Erdogan as a fascist dictator.
OPINION:
Erdogan's Domestic War for a Presidential System in Turkey
Erdogan ruled by decree to instate a three-month state of emergency, a move that sounded alarm bells among Turkish activists and parts of the international community, as it extends the maximum period of detention for suspects from four to 30 days. Erdogan has also called for the reinstatement of the death penalty, shut down hundreds of media outlets, arrested journalists and has shut down thousands of other institutions including schools and trade unions.
Newsletter
