ANKARA: Turkish security forces have killed 26 Kurdish militants in the past week, the Turkish defense ministry said Thursday, even as the militants鈥� imprisoned leader called on his group to disband and his fighters declared a ceasefire.
A defense ministry statement said the militants were killed in military operations in areas including the north of Iraq and Syria. It did not provide details on the circumstances of the clashes.
鈥淥ur Turkish Armed Forces will continue its operations and its search-and-scan activities in the region for the survival and security of our country,鈥� the ministry said. It added the military would 鈥渃ontinue the fight against terrorism with determination until not a single terrorist remains.鈥�
The banned Kurdistan Workers鈥� Party, or PKK, declared a ceasefire in the 40-year insurgency against the Turkish government on Saturday, responding to a call to disarm by the group鈥檚 leader, Abdullah Ocalan, on Feb. 27.
Ocalan鈥檚 call and the PKK鈥檚 declaration were part of an effort to end the conflict that was initiated in October by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan鈥檚 ally, Devlet Bahceli, who is the leader of Turkiye鈥檚 far-right nationalist party.
Ocalan, who has been serving a life-term on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and take the decision to disband. The PKK has appealed for Ocalan to be released from prison, to 鈥減ersonally direct and execute鈥� a congress.
Meanwhile, the leader of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has said Ocalan鈥檚 call for a ceasefire does not apply to his group in Syria.
The Turkish government, however, says all Kurdish groups it claims are tied to the PKK 鈥� whether in Turkiye, Syria or Iraq 鈥� must disband.
Erdogan warned last week that Turkiye would 鈥渁lways keep our iron fist ready in case the hand we extend is left in the air or bitten.鈥� He said military operations would continue, if necessary.
The conflict between Turkiye and the PKK has led to tens of thousands of deaths since it began in 1984. The ceasefire is the first sign of a breakthrough since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye and its Western allies.