Turkey has been engaged in a war against the PKK for months now, but really picked up the pace in the past week, imposing full-scale curfews on Kurdish towns in the southeast, and engaging in increasingly indiscriminate shelling and sniper fire against those population centers.
The past week, according to rights groups, has seen about 200 rebels killed, along with 150 slain civilians. This sort of huge civilian toll is only adding to opposition Kurdish groups who were previously peaceful but are increasingly endorsing the rebellion as just resistance.
The Erdogan government has ruled out allowing the Kurds or anyone else carving an independent state out of Turkish soil, but as the fighting grows so too do the calls for self-rule in Kurdistan, and less and less faith in Turkey ever treating the Kurdish minority equitably.
Rights groups are warning that there are likely to be further precipitous rises in civilian deaths as the offensive continues, as curfewed towns are left without electricity, running water or food shipments, and anyone who goes outside to seek medical help or for any other reason becomes an instant military target.
my god! he's killing his own people! brutally crushing a peaceful
movement! i say erdogen has lost his legitimacy!
it's high time for russia and iran to arm the moderate opposition!
Turkey is a member of NATO and an ally. It persecutes Kurds, profits from oil from the Islamic State, stokes violence and religious extremism in neighboring Syria, among other despicable activities. That's a nice friend to have. And there are many in the US, appreciative of such manly support, think that Turkey belongs in the European Union. Even in the EU itself a good part of the ruling class is receptive to Turkish membership. Amongst the less fortunate Europeans, however, not so much.
PKK is a terrorist organization and a tool of all the foreign powers who do not like Turkey to be a self sufficient country. Jason Ditz's hate for Turks in favor of a terrorist group will go nowhere and the murderers will give up soon.
Free Kurdistan!