Turkish soldier killed in Kurdistan Region despite PKK-Ankara peace talks
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey's defense ministry announced on Wednesday that a Turkish soldier was killed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on the Kurdistan Region's bordering areas. The incident occurred despite revived peace negotiations between both warring sides and the Kurdish group's unilateral ceasefire.
The ministry stated that the soldier, Berat Mecit Day, was 'seriously injured as a result of the attack carried out by members of the terrorist organization' on Tuesday. He succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday at a field hospital despite medical intervention.
Turkey and the PKK have been engaged in a decades-long armed conflict. Ankara and its western allies consider the group a terrorist organization. Founded in 1978, the PKK initially struggled for autonomy but now seeks broader cultural and political rights within Turkey.
The development comes as peace efforts to resolve the Ankara-PKK conflict - which has lasted more than four decades and claimed over 40,000 lives - have gained new momentum in recent months.
Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) is spearheading the initiative to mediate peace between Turkey and the PKK. This includes meetings with Turkish politicians and with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held in Imrali prison, northwest of Turkey, since 1999.
In late February, the DEM Party relayed a landmark message by Ocalan, in which he called on the PKK to disarm and disband.
The PKK responded to Ocalan's message, expressing willingness to uphold his call and declaring a unilateral ceasefire with Turkey, while accusing Ankara of continuing attacks against its members. The group also requested a physical meeting with Ocalan as a precondition for the success of the peace process.
As part of its outreach, the DEM Party has been meeting with leaders across the Kurdistan Region to build support for the peace initiative. Its most recent delegation visit began Sunday and lasted three days.
Speaking to reporters in Erbil on Monday, DEM Party lawmaker Meral Danis Bestas asserted that in order for the peace process to advance, 'Turkey's [military] operations must be halted and democratic steps must be adopted by all sides.'
Days prior on Friday, Kamaran Osman, a member of the US-based Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), told Rudaw that Turkish artillery has continued shelling suspected PKK posts in the Kurdistan Region's northern Duhok province.
Omer Celik, spokesperson for Turkey's ruling said on Monday that 'new developments' could arise later this month regarding the peace process.
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