54 PKK militants killed in latest Turkish military operations: Source
At least 54 members of the Kurdistan’s Workers Party (PKK) have reportedly been killed in the latest wave of Turkish military operations against the militant group southeast of the country.
The state-run Anadolou news agency quoted an unnamed security source as saying on Friday that 20 more PKK members were pronounced dead after Turkish forces targeted them in two towns of Cizre and Silopi, bringing the total number of militants killed in three days of clashes in the Sirnak Province to at least 54.
Other sources, including the website of Turkey’s Hurriyet daily, put the number of fatalities at 55.
Military sources said at least 19 Turkish security forces were also injured in the clashes that came to an end on Thursday.
Turkish troops also arrested three militants during the clashes. Hurriyet said 49 of those dead were from Cizre, a town of 100,000 people, while six were killed in Silopi.
A curfew has been in place in the two towns since Monday, with reports suggesting that many people have fled the urban areas.
Turkey’s escalated crackdown has sparked fresh wave of protests in other Kurdish-dominated regions south of Turkey. Reports say several thousand took to the streets of the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Friday to condemn the military operations against the Kurds.
According to report, police also used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters, who were angry at repeated curfews being imposed on the Kurdish-populated areas.
Earlier this week, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said anti-PKK operations would continue in Silopi and Cizre to prevent the militants from “spreading the fire” from Syria and Iraq into Turkey.
However, Figen Yuksekdag from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) criticized Davutoglu’s remarks and accused the government of “ordering a massacre” in Silopi and Cizre.
Turkey has been engaged in a large-scale military campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the recent past. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against PKK positions in northern Iraq.
Ankara’s operations began in the wake of a deadly July 20 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, located close to border with Syria. More than 30 people died in the attack, which the Turkish government blamed on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.
After the bombing, PKK militants who accuse the government in Ankara of supporting Daesh, engaged in a series of attacks against Turkish police and security forces, in turn prompting Turkey's military operations.
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