PKK Scraps Unilateral Ceasefire, Erdogan Vows to ‘Liquidate’ Them

Turkish Army Kills 16 PKK Along Southeastern Border

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) today announced the end of their month-long unilateral ceasefire inside Turkey, which was intended to cover the lead-up to and period immediately following the Turkish national election, which was held over the weekend and won by the ruling AKP.

The PKK cited recent government attacks, including today’s attacks along the southeastern border, in which the military killed 16 PKK fighters near Iraq. The military imposed an around-the-clock curfew in several districts in the area.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who resumed the war against the PKK over the summer, reiterated his vow to see the war continue until every last member of the PKK was “liquidated” outright.

Turkey and the PKK have been at war for over 30 years, and had a multi-year ceasefire which ended this summer, amid coalition talks between the AKP and the anti-Kurdish MHP Party. The ceasefire was meant to allow talks to end the war outright, though the talks never really made much progress.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.