PKK Warns of Intensifying Attacks Across Turkey

Jamil Bayik, the head of the PKK's leadership council, stated that the Turkish President has "intensified" the war against the PKK, and that the PKK is also prepared to escalate its fight against the Turkish government and defend itself "to the end." In an interview with the BBC on Monday, April 25, Bayik emphasized that the PKK is "not only ready to increase its struggle in Kurdistan but is also prepared to intensify its war throughout Turkey." He also remarked that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "wants the Kurds to surrender, and if they do not surrender, he wants to kill all Kurds. He openly states this and does not hide his words." Bayik added, "Our intention is not to separate from Turkey and form another country. We do not want to disintegrate Turkey. We want to live freely within the borders of Turkey and in our land... Our struggle will continue until the fundamental rights of the Kurds are recognized." The head of the PKK's leadership council further asserted that "as long as Turkey's approach continues in this manner, the Kurds will defend themselves to the end, and the PKK will undoubtedly fight more fiercely." Since the two-year ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK was violated last year, Turkish state forces have launched a severe campaign against the PKK in the southeast of the country. Erdogan stated this month that in recent battles, 355 Turkish security forces and over five thousand PKK members have lost their lives; although these figures have not yet been independently verified. In various cities across Turkey in recent months, a series of explosions have occurred, with accusations directed at the PKK, while a new radical group supporting Kurdish rights, called "Kurdistan Freedom Hawks," has claimed responsibility for two bomb explosions in Ankara. The PKK was founded in 1984 to fight for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey, leading to a bloody conflict that has left 40,000 dead. Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of the PKK, who is imprisoned, declared a ceasefire in March 2013, but since last year, Kurdish protests against Erdogan's handling of the Syrian Kurdish issue have reignited tensions between the PKK and Erdogan's government. In this context, two soldiers were killed and about 50 others were injured in an attack "by the PKK," while Turkish fighter jets killed 24 militants in attacks on PKK positions in northern Iraq.