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Kurdish rebels 'kill 24 Turkish soldiers' | |
(40 minutes later) | |
At least 24 Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels at several police and army posts in south-east Turkey, reports say. | |
Governor Muammer Turker confirmed the attacks in the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari, the Associated Press said. | Governor Muammer Turker confirmed the attacks in the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari, the Associated Press said. |
The attacks come a day after a blast in the southeast Bitlis province killed five police officers and three others. | The attacks come a day after a blast in the southeast Bitlis province killed five police officers and three others. |
The area, where ethnic Kurds make up a majority, has recently seen a spike in violence by Kurdish rebels. | The area, where ethnic Kurds make up a majority, has recently seen a spike in violence by Kurdish rebels. |
Turkey has responded with a police crackdown on suspected rebel sympathisers and air strikes on Kurdish sites in northern Iraq. | Turkey has responded with a police crackdown on suspected rebel sympathisers and air strikes on Kurdish sites in northern Iraq. |
Rebels are seeking greater autonomy in the country's Kurdish-dominated south-east, and have killed dozens of members of the country's security forces, and at least 17 civilians, since mid-July. | |
Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984. | Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984. |
'Pressure on government' | 'Pressure on government' |
The latest violence - thought to be simultaneous overnight attacks - is said to have also taken place in several locations in Cukurca and the district of Yuksekova. | The latest violence - thought to be simultaneous overnight attacks - is said to have also taken place in several locations in Cukurca and the district of Yuksekova. |
Correspondents say such attacks will add to pressure on the government to devise a more effective strategy for combating the PKK. | Correspondents say such attacks will add to pressure on the government to devise a more effective strategy for combating the PKK. |
The government has already said it will ask the police to play a bigger role in counter-insurgency, but this idea has been challenged by critics who argue that the police are no better equipped to tackle the PKK than the army is. | The government has already said it will ask the police to play a bigger role in counter-insurgency, but this idea has been challenged by critics who argue that the police are no better equipped to tackle the PKK than the army is. |
The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Istanbul, says there is little talk now of renewing the so-called "democratic opening", an initiative from two years ago, which aimed to end the conflict in the south-east by expanding the rights of the Kurdish minority. |