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NATO's Second-Largest Army Wages War Against 'Kids With AK-47s'

© REUTERS / Sertac KayarRiot police use a water cannon to disperse stone throwing Kurdish demonstrators during a protest against the curfew in Sur district, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 22, 2015
Riot police use a water cannon to disperse stone throwing Kurdish demonstrators during a protest against the curfew in Sur district, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 22, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Ankara's recent military campaign against Kurdish rebels marks "a whole new level of escalation" in a decades-long conflict, with few truly understanding its scope and implications, Istanbul-based journalist Asli Aydintasbas asserted.

"Somehow, the fact that NATO's second-largest army is fully mobilized on the Syrian border in a war against 16-year-old kids with AK-47s who have carved out 'liberated zones' in their neighborhoods is getting almost no coverage in international media," she wrote.

Turkish forces launched the latest operation to tackle the Kurdish insurgency after the peace process collapsed in 2015. Since then, Ankara has launched airstrikes against militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey and neighboring countries.

© AFP 2023 / Ilyas AkenginA boy shows bullets used during clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkish special forces in the Sur district in Diyarbakir on December 11, 2015.
A boy shows bullets used during clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkish special forces in the Sur district in Diyarbakir on December 11, 2015. - Sputnik International
A boy shows bullets used during clashes between Kurdish fighters and Turkish special forces in the Sur district in Diyarbakir on December 11, 2015.

Aydintasbas emphasized that the conflict has become far more dangerous. "Much of what took place in the 1990s was in the countryside, between Kurdish guerrillas and army units. This time, it is urban, just as deadly, and far more explosive," the journalist explained in an opinion piece for Politico.

"To be clear: We are not talking about a skirmish here or there; this is a conflict about tanks, artillery, snipers and heavy fire in densely populated areas," she noted.

Riot police use a water cannon to disperse stone throwing Kurdish demonstrators during a protest against the curfew in Sur district, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 22, 2015 - Sputnik International
Breaking the Silence: Turkish Leadership Waging a War Against Its People
Aydintasbas attributed the blame for the recent spout of violence in Turkey's Kurdish regions to Ankara's growing authoritarianism. Ironically, this trend has been reinforced at a time when Ankara enjoys "a second honeymoon" with the West.

The journalist maintains that neither side is capable of winning this war.

"Turkey's Kurdish issue cannot be solved through military means alone and Ankara's friends around the world would do well to urge a return to the negotiating table, rather than watch Turkey follow its neighbors' path to ethnic and sectarian warfare," she noted.

© REUTERS / Murad SezerA woman walks past a building which was damaged during the security operations and clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants, in the southeastern town of Silvan in Diyarbakir province, Turkey, December 7, 2015.
A woman walks past a building which was damaged during the security operations and clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants, in the southeastern town of Silvan in Diyarbakir province, Turkey, December 7, 2015. - Sputnik International
A woman walks past a building which was damaged during the security operations and clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants, in the southeastern town of Silvan in Diyarbakir province, Turkey, December 7, 2015.

The worst-case scenario, according to Aydintasbas, cannot be ruled out. Photographs of Kurdish cities devastated by the conflict, which has already claimed more than 45,000 lives, look alarmingly similar to images made in Syria in 2011.

The journalist believes that Turkish authorities have to understand that the Kurds pose no threat. The ethnic minority, in her opinion, is "a prelude to building our democracy." Moreover, "Turkey's future and its borders are best secured through a lasting Kurdish peace."

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