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Turkey violence: How dangerous is instability? Turkey violence: How dangerous is Turkey's instability?
(2 days later)
Turkey's biggest cities, Ankara and Istanbul, have been hit by a spate of deadly bombings. The latest, targeting Ataturk airport in Istanbul, is one of Europe's busiest transport hubs, attracting more than 60 million travellers a year. Turkey's biggest cities have witnessed a spate of deadly bombings and a bloody attempted coup this year.
For so long a beacon of stability between Europe and the Middle East, Turkey has entered a period of high tension, fighting Kurdish militants in its restive east and struggling to prevent Islamist militant violence spreading from across its border with Syria. For so long a beacon of stability between Europe and the Middle East, Turkey has entered a period of high tension.
While they see Kurdish militants as the principal threat, Turks have now come under repeated attack from so-called Islamic State (IS). It has long fought Kurdish militants in its restive east. Now it is trying to prevent Islamist militant violence spreading up from Syria and is cracking down on thousands of people suspected of supporting the failed coup.
How dangerous is the current crisis?How dangerous is the current crisis?
Five bombings in central Istanbul and four in Ankara in the past eight months have sent Turks a clear message that no area is immune from the violence and that they are being targeted on several fronts. The latest bombing, on 20 August, targeted a wedding in Gaziantep, close to the south-eastern border with Syria, well away from the main population centres.
The Ataturk airport bombing, blamed on IS, claimed 45 lives and is one of the deadliest in recent Turkish history, targeting foreign visitors as well as Turks. Since the start of the year, Kurdish and IS militants staged a succession of attacks on Istanbul: But Istanbul and Ankara have seen a series of deadly attacks too, and the failed coup took place on the streets of both cities, with the loss of 240 lives on 15 and 16 July. Tanks rolled on to the streets and fighter jets targeted parliament in Ankara, as rebel troops commandeered the bridges across the Bosphorus.
Some of the bloodiest attacks have been in the capital, Ankara: The message for Turks is clear: that the risk of violence is not limited to the border and it is on several fronts.
The biggest attacks, including the Gaziantep bomb, have been blamed on jihadist group Islamic State (IS):
But Kurdish militants have been behind a string of bombings since a ceasefire collapsed in July 2015:
Until recently, the bloodshed was largely confined to the mainly Kurdish areas of the east and south-east, where the Turkish military has battled the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for decades.Until recently, the bloodshed was largely confined to the mainly Kurdish areas of the east and south-east, where the Turkish military has battled the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for decades.
Violence in the main cities tended to target party offices, particularly those of the left-wing and pro-Kurdish HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party). The banned Marxist DKHP-C has periodically carried out attacks on police and Western embassies.Violence in the main cities tended to target party offices, particularly those of the left-wing and pro-Kurdish HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party). The banned Marxist DKHP-C has periodically carried out attacks on police and Western embassies.
Turkey is no longer the safe destination that made it one of the world's biggest tourist draws.Turkey is no longer the safe destination that made it one of the world's biggest tourist draws.
France has urged its citizens to exercise great vigilance in tourist areas and the UK has warned that "further attacks could be indiscriminate and could affect places visited by foreigners". . The US gives similar advice. France has urged its citizens to exercise great vigilance in tourist areas and the UK warns that the situation "remains potentially volatile", while pointing out that things have calmed since the attempted coup.
The US warns its citizens of "increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey".
Turks themselves have become afraid of going to shopping centres and open spaces.Turks themselves have become afraid of going to shopping centres and open spaces.
"I think we are seeing a downward spiral towards more violence," warns Prof Menderes Cinar of Baskent University in Ankara."I think we are seeing a downward spiral towards more violence," warns Prof Menderes Cinar of Baskent University in Ankara.
Turkey's tensions: Read moreTurkey's tensions: Read more
Why has security worsened in Turkey? Why is Turkey challenged on so many fronts?
Turkey has become embroiled in a conflict on two fronts, inside Turkey and across its Syrian border. Turkey sees itself targeted by three groups of "terrorists": IS, Kurdish militants and coup-plotters.
In 2014, Turkey agreed to take part in the US-led operation against so-called Islamic State, and IS sees it as part of a Nato alliance carrying out air strikes on its Syrian and Iraqi bases. Since the failed 15 July coup, Turkey's government has detained thousands of suspected sympathisers in the security forces and removed many more from their jobs in public life. The focus of the crackdown is a shadowy movement described as a "parallel state", that is said to owe its allegiance to cleric Fethullah Gulen, in self-imposed exile in the US.
The government in Ankara has for decades fought an internal war with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). For two years a ceasefire kept a lid on skirmishes between Turkey and the Kurdish militants, seen as a terrorist group domestically and by much of the West. Who are the Gulenists?
But that ceasefire came to an end in July 2015, after a bombing that killed 32 young Kurdish and left-wing activists in the south-eastern city of Suruc. Turkey - after the coup
But as the coup inquiry continues, so too do Turkey's internal security threats.
A long-running internal conflict with Kurdish militants had been quiet for a couple of years, until an IS suicide bomber targeted a rally of young Kurdish activists near the Syrian border at Suruc in July 2015.
Profile: Kurdistan Workers' Party - Turkey's decades of armed struggleProfile: Kurdistan Workers' Party - Turkey's decades of armed struggle
Those targeted, apparently by an IS bomber, were planning to travel into northern Syria to help rebuild Kobane, a town devastated by IS militants. It was a clear sign that the Syrian conflict had reached Turkey. Contagion from the Syrian conflict had been feared for some time. Kurds had long battled the spread of IS militants in Syria without any help from Turkey. The Suruc bombing sparked new attacks on both sides, triggering the Turkey-PKK ceasefire's collapse.
A wave of militant attacks and military counter-attacks began, as the PKK accused Turkey of wanting IS fighters to succeed in an attempt to put a stop to Kurdish territorial gains in Syria and Iraq. For IS, there was a clear benefit in seeing Turkey drawn into renewed domestic conflict. Turkey's security forces have become bogged down in a military campaign against the PKK in the east and south-east. Curfews were imposed on towns and cities for months this year as the Turkish military hunted down Kurdish militants.
Turkey imposed curfews on towns and cities in the south-east for months this year as it hunted for Kurdish militants. Although reluctant to help the Kurds fight IS and carve out territory in Syria, Turkey nevertheless agreed in 2014 to take part in the US-led operation against so-called Islamic State. IS considered Turkey part of a Nato alliance carrying out air strikes on its Syrian and Iraqi bases.
Turkey and the PKK appear to be back where they were before the 2013 truce began. And Turkey has worked hard to seal off the supply of militants crossing a previously porous Turkey-Syria border to join IS.
PKK leader Cemil Bayik has accused President Erdogan of "protecting IS" to stop Kurds advancing against the jihadist group. And in a BBC interview in April he made clear that he saw attacks on civilians as wrong. "There can be actions taken against soldiers; it's a war and they're also fighting," he said. Although PKK leader Cemil Bayik has accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of "protecting IS", to stop Kurds advancing against the jihadist group, Turkey is supporting the campaign by Syrian Arab rebels to oust IS from the city of Jarablus.
But why are the main cities coming under attack? The Gaziantep bombing has been seen as an IS reprisal for losing ground in the border areas, and Turkey's foreign minister has spoken of fighting "Daesh (IS) to the end".
The latest apparent IS attack, on Ataturk airport, is a deadly reminder of the Brussels airport bombing in March. It provides an attractive target involving large numbers of Turks and foreigners. Are the main cities safe?
Until now, the PKK carried out much of the violence against government and military targets in the south-east. But its offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), is more hardline and its attacks have become more deadly and more focused on Ankara and Istanbul. The coup is over and life in Istanbul and Ankara has returned to normal. However, the threat from IS and Kurdish militants remains, security is very high and the US has gone as far as urging its citizens to reconsider travelling to Turkey at the moment.
The TAK had been quiet for a few years but renewed conflict in the south-east because of the failed ceasefire has revived the group, says BBC Turkey correspondent Mark Lowen. Ataturk airport was an attractive target for IS, as it has become one of Europe's busiest transport hubs, attracting almost 42 million passengers in 2015. It was a deadly reminder of the Brussels airport bombing in March and, after 12 German tourists were killed in Istanbul's Sultanahmet tourist area in January, a clear warning that tourists were seen as potential targets.
Turkey's government does not differentiate between the PKK and its hardline offshoot, arguing that there is a crossover of personnel. The March bombing in the centre of Ankara lends that theory credence as the government says the bomber joined the PKK and was trained over the border in Syria. However, Turkey continues to be a leading draw for tourists and the main coastal resorts have avoided the violence seen elsewhere.
Why is the Syrian conflict to blame? Tourists are not a target for Kurdish militants. And until now the PKK has carried out much of the violence against government and military targets in the south-east. But its offshoot, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), is more hardline and its attacks have become more deadly and more focused on Ankara and Istanbul.
Turkey has long been caught up in the Syrian conflict, and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first to champion rebel opposition groups and call openly for President Bashar al-Assad's removal. Turkey's government does not differentiate between the PKK and its hardline offshoot, arguing that there is a crossover of personnel. The March bombing in the centre of Ankara lends that theory credence, as the government says the bomber joined the PKK and was trained over the border in Syria.
But Turkey has become increasingly concerned about attempts by Kurdish groups to mark out areas of northern Syria under their own control. It fears the rise of the Syrian Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia as well as its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Is the Syrian conflict to blame for the unrest?
Much of the IS violence inside Turkey in recent months can be listed as reprisal attacks for the Ankara government's policy on Syria.
But the Kurdish question is more complex and most of the Kurdish attacks within Turkey are down to long-running internal issues that have flared up since the end of the ceasefire.
Turkey is worried by the rise of Kurdish groups in northern Syria, particularly the Syrian Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) militia and its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD).
"Turkey is feeling a very serious existential threat from the PYD and PKK," says Burhanettin Duran, executive director of Turkey's pro-government Seta research institute. "It's a very solid fact that the PYD and the PKK are the same.""Turkey is feeling a very serious existential threat from the PYD and PKK," says Burhanettin Duran, executive director of Turkey's pro-government Seta research institute. "It's a very solid fact that the PYD and the PKK are the same."
In 2014, three autonomous administrations were declared. Then the YPG beat back IS from the Turkish border in 2015 and established control over a stretch along the border estimated at up to 400km (250 miles) in length. When Russia intervened in the Syrian conflict in September 2015, the Syrian Kurds found common cause with the advancing Syrian army and its Russian allies and made territorial gains north of Aleppo, fighting the Arab rebels. Now Syria's Kurds have declared their own federal system.
When Russia intervened in the Syrian conflict in September 2015, the Syrian Kurds found common cause with the advancing Syrian army and its Russian allies and made territorial gains north of Aleppo. Now Syria's Kurds have declared their own federal system.
Kurdish groups now control most of the Syrian border with Turkey, with only a 100km (60-mile) stretch remaining from Azaz to the IS-held town of Jarablus.
"The state is very suspicious of Kurdish activities on our border, which are against our national interest," says Turkish political commentator Fehmi Koru.
Part of the problem for Turkey, a Nato member, is that while the US sees the PKK as a terrorist group, it backs the Kurdish YPG over the border in Syria.Part of the problem for Turkey, a Nato member, is that while the US sees the PKK as a terrorist group, it backs the Kurdish YPG over the border in Syria.
Tears and destruction amid Turkey's PKK crackdownTears and destruction amid Turkey's PKK crackdown
Syrians in Turkey: 'We just want a normal life'Syrians in Turkey: 'We just want a normal life'