Clashes occurred between gendarmerie officers and PKK members after the latter blocked a number of roads in the area.

Meanwhile, the funeral ceremonies of the two soldiers killed during clashes between security forces and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Şırnak’s Uludere district were held on April 13.

Some 7,000 people, including Rize governor Seyfullah Hacımüftüoğlu, joined Sergeant Caner Kesimal’s funeral ceremony, which was held in the Black Sea province of Rize’s Ardeşen district.
Sergeant Bayram Tekin’s funeral ceremony was held in the central Anatolian province of Konya. Konya Governor Aydın Nezih Doğan and high ranking military officials joined the ceremony. The sergeants died in the same area where thirty-four civilians were killed in a Turkish military air raid in 2011.

Source: Hurriyet
URL:http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/one-killed-one-injured-in-clashes-with-the-pkk.aspx?pageID=238&nID=18414&NewsCatID=341

Thick snow cover slowed down troop movement in certain areas. Turkish army stock photo
The Turkish Armed Forces launched a major military operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the eastern province of Tunceli yesterday.

The military routinely conducts large-scale operations against PKK militants emerging from their winter hideouts as spring begins, but this year’s attack began late due to harsh conditions, reports said.

Nearly 2,000 specially trained soldiers participated in the operation, encompassing an area that covered the outskirts of the Tunceli provincial center, as well as the districts of Nazimiye and Hozat.
Numerous hideouts that are used by PKK militants as winter camps were captured by Turkish soldiers as hundreds of troops were deployed via land and air into the Pülümür, Munzur, Geyiksuyu and Ahpanos valleys.

The sound of intense gunfire was heard near Geyiksuyu village this morning, but there were no confirmed reports of clashes.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Source: Hurriyet
URL: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-army-launches-major-operation-against-pkk-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=18075&NewsCatID=341

This AA file photo shows a military vehicle rolled on its side in the eastern province of Van.
One soldier was killed and six others were injured today when a military vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the northern province of Amasya.

Amasya Governor Abdil Celil Öz told Anatolia news agency that a gendarmerie vehicle was on its way to Çiğdemlik village, located 10 kilometers from the city center, to check out a theft complaint. The explosion occurred when the vehicle was near Zana Bridge, killing one soldier and injuring six, he said.
The soldier killed was identified as Murat Erdem, while the injured were hospitalized at the state hospital in Amasya.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a message of condolence to Chief of Staff Gen. Necedt Özel, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured soldiers.

Doğan news agency reported that the bomb was remotely detonated around 3:30 p.m. Such bombs are usually used by the militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the report said. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Source: Hurriyet
URL: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-soldier-killed-in-landmine-attack.aspx?pageID=238&nID=18007&NewsCatID=341

Security forces clashed with PKK militants near Derecik village in the Şemdinli district of the southeastern Hakkari province.

A specialist sergeant was also wounded in the clashes.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Source:  http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-officer-killed-in-clashes-in-countrys-southeast-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17636&NewsCatID=341

Speaking at a press conference following the adoption of her report on Turkey at the European Parliament on Thursday, Oomen-Ruijten said that she strongly condemned the violent acts of PKK, an organization considered to be a terrorist one by the European Union (EU).If I have to give an advice to members of the BDP, it would be to cut off all ties with PKK. I would be pleased to see the BDP cut off all ties with PKK, Oomen-Ruijten stressed.

Meanwhile, the co-chair of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, Helene Flautre, said that the report adopted at the EP today sent an open message to Turkish officials, political actors and civil society to deepen the supremacy of laws.

Source: Cumhuriyet
URL: http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=326250

Governor Toprak said a group of people had tried to march into the city during the funerals of two PKK members.

However, when security forces prevented the march, the group threw stones and explosives at the police, he added.
“A 26-year-old man, Mehmet Şerif Demir, lost his life when an explosive blew up in his hands as he was trying to throw it at the police,” Toprak said, adding that investigations were continuing regarding the incident.

Source: Hurriyet
URL: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bomb-explosion-kills-one-in-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17132&NewsCatID=341

“Do not let them even take a breath,” said Fehman Hüseyin, head of the PKK’s action group. “This is our year of war.”

According to intelligence units, Hüseyin, nicknamed “Bahoz,” gave instructions to the PKK’s mountain teams and evaluated the recent clashes in the southeastern province of Şırnak’s Cudi Mountain through a series of walkie-talkie conversations.
He also reportedly ordered mountain teams to spread out over the area and to move in small groups as they pass through rural areas.

Hüseyin has been allegedly receiving treatment in Syria after being wounded on Kandil Mountain.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Source: Hurriyet
URL: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/this-is-the-year-of-war-says-senior-pkk-commander-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17085&NewsCatID=338

The investigation was sparked by the beating of a Turkish citizen who has a kebab business near Venice. The five, all Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin, are under investigation for conspiring with the intent of extortion and causing serious injury, with the aggravating circumstance of terrorism aims, a police statement said.

Authorities also ordered the search of eight residences in yesterday’s action.

‘Money to buy arms’

The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States and Turkey. Italian police said one of those arrested said in conversations overheard by authorities that the extorted money would be used to buy arms and carry out terror actions in southeastern Turkey.

Source: Hurriyet
URL: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/italian-police-arrest-five-members-of-outlawed-pkk.aspx?pageID=238&nID=17053&NewsCatID=351

Idris Naim Sahin said a clash erupted between security forces and terrorists on Wednesday morning, and gendarmery forces, police officers and special force members were wounded in the clash.

“According to information I have received, five police officers and a member of special forces were killed in the operation,” Sahin told AA correspondent in the northern province of Ordu.

Sahin also said clash between security forces and terrorists continued.

Source: Cumhuriyet
URL: http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=324212

The officer was among 24 people who were injured on Tuesday in clashes that erupted across Kurdish-majority southeast when riot police fired water cannon and tear gas in an attempt to disperse the unauthorised demonstrations.

The officer, along with four other officers and a civilian, was wounded in the town of Cizre in Sirnak province on the border with Iraq, the source said.

Three other officers were also shot in Yuksekova town of Hakkari, another border province mostly populated by the ethnic minority.

Turkish authorities rejected a Kurdish demand to mark Navroz on Sunday, the day of rest in Turkey, designating Wednesday as the only day authorised for New Year celebrations.

On Sunday, thousands of Kurds clashed with police in Istanbul and the southern city of Diyarbakir, leaving nine people injured as security forces tried to stop festivities.

Navroz celebrations are an opportunity for the Kurdish community to demand more rights and to show support for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and much of the international community.

The bloodiest Navroz in Turkey occurred in 1992, when some 50 people were killed in clashes with security forces in the Kurdish-majority southeast.

The PKK took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.
Source: Cumhuriyet
URL: http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=324000