24 members of the security forces were killed and 18 people were wounded in yesterday's (19 October) attacks by the armed outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Yüksekova and Çukurca, two districts of Hakkari, a city on the south-eastern tip of the country close to the Iraqi border. 21 PKK members were reportedly killed in the course of the clashes. The attacks were started at eight places simultaneously at around 1.00 am on Wednesday morning and lasted till the morning.
"Cross-border operation still continuing"
bianet talked to Zeki Dara, editor-in-chief and publications coordinator of the YuksekovaHaber news site about the developments after the attacks. Dara confirmed that military operations and clashes in the region were still going on.
The journalist said that the clashes had not spilled into the city centre of Hakkari or of the other districts. In the townships of Çukurca and Yüksekova intense cross-border operations into Northern Iraq were still being continued on Wednesday (19 October).
Dara reported that the border region was the target of constant aerial strikes and that helicopter traffic was very dense. He indicated that the people in the provincial and district centres were extremely concerned even though there had not been any fights there.
Dara received the information that a unit from the division close to the border had crossed the border and entered Northern Iraq.
"Given information does not reflect the truth"
Dara drew attention to the fact that he was not able to obtain concrete information about the persons who died and were wounded in the attacks since varying numbers were announced.
Despite the media's reporting 24 soldiers and policemen dead, Fırat News Agency wrote that about 50 died in the attacks, Dara pointed out. Also the information about the dead PKK members was differing.
"Even in the face of such a grave incident we are not able to obtain concrete information. The officials do not answer their phones. Accordingly, the reported numbers of casualties and injured do not reflect the truth."
Summit in Ankara
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay, Minister of the Interior İdris Naim Şahin, Defence Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin and Undersecretary of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Wednesday morning.
A group of people gathered in front of the Prime Ministry for a protest action during the meeting of Turkey's top-ranking politicians. The demonstrators shouted slogans and carried flags. Security officials and later on teams of the riot police intervened against them when they apparently tried to enter the Prime Ministry.
In a statement released after the meeting, PM Erdoğan called on everybody to stay calm.
"First of all I express my condolences to everybody. According to the latest confirmed information from the conflict area of Çukurca, 24 Turkish soldiers were killed in action and 18 soldiers were wounded. Operations in the region are currently going on in hot pursuit complying with international law", Erdoğan announced.
"Government and PKK should stop the war"
Co-Chairs of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Selahattin Demirtaş and Gültan Kışanak, said in a condolence message, "Enough people have died in this war".
"We call on the government and the PKK to urgently stop this war without losing one more second", they urged. (EKN/IC/AS/VK)
