Civilians caught in clashes in SE Turkey

World Today

Civilians caught in clashes in SE Turkey

For over five months, Southeast Turkey has been the scene of violent clashes between Turkish armed forces and Kurdistan Worker’s Party “PKK” terrorists. Civilians in the area are dealing with government imposed curfews as talks of peace seem out of reach.

Leaders are arguing over issues of autonomy and the situation appears to be at a deadlock.  CCTV’s Michal Bardavid reports from Istanbul.
Follow Michal Bardavid on Twitter @michalbardavid

The Turkish government has been battling with the PKK, trying to clear the area of barricades and trenches dug by armed militants.

Citizens across districts in Diyarbakir, Sirnak and Mardin have been struggling with days of curfews imposed by the government.

These clashes first erupted in July of this year, bringing the peace process to a complete halt. Negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK was aiming to end a conflict that has lasted for three decades and cost nearly 40,000 lives.

Recently, Kurdish representatives have adopted a joint 14-article declaration, calling for self-rule in southeastern Turkey.

People’s Democratic Party HDP’s co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas emphasized however, that this was not a novel aim for Kurds.

Since July, more than 200 Turkish security forces and over 1,700 PKK terrorists have been killed in southeast Turkey. This combined with an unrealistic push for autonomy only seems to make matters worse and a re-launch of the peace process as the United States has urged Turkey to strive for seems unlikely, at least for now.