Turkish Troops Kill Four Kurdish Rebels in Eastern Anatolia

Published November 4th, 2000 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Turkish soldiers have killed four Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in a clash in the eastern province of Bingol, security officials said Saturday. 

The fighting erupted on rural ground in the province during routine security operations by Turkish security forces, a statement from the emergency rule headquarters in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir said. 

It did not mention any losses from the Turkish side. 

Previously heavy fighting in the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast and east has scaled down considerably since September 1999, when the PKK said it was halting its 15-year armed campaign for self-rule and pulling out of Turkish territory. 

The truce announcement, launched following peace calls from condemned PKK rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, was brushed aside by the Turkish army as a "ploy". 

The conflict has claimed some 36,500 lives, according to official figures -- DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AFP)  

 

 

 

© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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