- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Turkish PM Says Enemies Trying to Turn Turkey Into Syria Will Be Defeated

© AP Photo / Manu Brabo, FileIn this Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012 file photo, smoke rises over Saif Al Dawla district, in Aleppo, Syria
In this Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012 file photo, smoke rises over Saif Al Dawla district, in Aleppo, Syria - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has lashed out at forces that “cooperate with foreign powers” to realize a scenario in Turkey similar to those that was played out in Iraq and Syria, trying to split the country up.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (File) - Sputnik International
Pro-Erdogan Turkish Newspaper Says Dead US Soldiers Were Terrorists, Not Heroes
The comments by the prime minister were on Saturday during his visit to the Turkish province of Ağrı, where Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attacked a village on September 10, killing ten people, including Turkish troops and law enforcement, Hurriyet Daily reported.

Speaking with the families of those killed in the attack, Yildirim hinted that PKK backed by foreign nations looks to break up the country.

“They want to turn Turkey into Syria or Iraq via cooperating with foreign powers. However, they forget one thing: This is not Syria or Iraq. This is Anatolia,” he said, adding that the government is “aware” of the plans of enemies of the Turkish state. “They are feeding terror in order to divide Turkey. This is a dirty game.”

However, Yildirm stressed that the enemies of Turkey came at “the wrong address,” because Ankara has a decades-long experience of fighting terrorists.

“We will kick you out of this soil,” he said in reference to PKK. “Operations against this cowardly terror group will continue until attacks against our gendarmerie, police and rural guards are completely over.”

Syrian men sit under a Turkish flag  in Gaziantep, southern Turkey (File) - Sputnik International
Turkish Minister Pledges 'Adequate Response' to US Embassy's Statement
The announcement comes amid reaction to the failed coup attempt in Turkey that took place on July 15. The mutiny resulted in 240 deaths and thousands of arrests of military officers, high-ranking civil servants, judges and teachers suspected of complicity in the plot.

The crackdown on Kurdish insurgents that are active in the southeastern Turkey became even stronger following the failed coup. In September some 11,500 teachers suspected of engaging in activities "in support of the separatist terrorist organization (Kurdish Workers’ Party or PKK) and its affiliates" were dismissed.

The conflict between Ankara and the PKK has lasted since 1984. The new spiral of conflict started in 2015, when a ceasefire agreement between the parties broke down.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала