Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party in plea not to write-off peace process

This is a significant change in policy: Ankara joined the anti-ISIL coalition when it was formed last September, but it has been the coalition’s most reluctant member, refusing to get directly involved against the group. More than 30 people were killed.

As of police estimates released when the raids began on Monday, however, only 15 of those arrested are confirmed to have been detained for having ties to the Islamic State terrorist group. Any escalation could undermine the coalition effort to defeat Islamic State.

The PKK has said the air strikes, launched virtually in parallel with strikes against Islamic State fighters in Syria, rendered the peace process meaningless but stopped short of formally pulling out.

On Tuesday, fighter jets also bombed PKK targets in the south-eastern Turkish province of Şırnak, bordering Iraq, after an attack on a group of gendarmes.

The warplanes pounded about half a dozen positions belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, the official told The Associated Press Wednesday.

Presidential sources said all three leaders had expressed their support.

Turkey had demanded that the U.S. create a “no-fly zone” over Syria before it would allow American aircraft to operate from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation base at Incirlik. This time, the strikes were in southeastern Turkey.

The Turkish jets scrambled upon an artillery fire from the PKK side that targeted Turkish Special Forces that were sent as reinforcement to the border patrol.

The spike in violence in recent days has prompted concerns that a promising peace process is falling beyond fix.

The raids have also struck Kurdish militants in Iraq.

The Kurds are the largest minority in Turkey, and have chafed under Turkish rule. The party lost its parliamentary majority in the 7 June elections, and the country still lacks a permanent government.

But for Turkey, bad blood with the Kurds trumps strategic alliance against ISIS.

This is a dramatic turnaround on Mr. Erdogan’s part.

These developments prompted Mr. Erdogan to become engaged in the battle against IS. “If there’s anything to be discussed, we can discuss it after that”, he said. He noted that “it’s always in Erdogan’s interest to draw out the government formation process”.

UNITED NATIONS United Nations aid chief Stephen O’Brien warned Turkey on Tuesday against calling its planned buffer in northern Syria “a safe zone” unless there is a guarantee of protection for civilians who are likely to flood the area for help.

Despite the government aggression against the PKK in the name of national security, Turkish citizens consider the IS group to be a bigger threat to the country and believe northern Syria should be in the hands of Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD) – an offshoot of the PKK.

Erdogan initiated negotiations in 2012 to try to end the PKK’s fight for an autonomous state.

Details of the zone “remain to be worked out”, the official said during a visit by US President Barack Obama to Ethiopia. The military said the soldier later died, at least the fourth member of the security forces to be killed over the past week. The king condemned the attacks and said he “supports Turkey’s right to defend itself and protect its citizens from terrorist acts” which pose a threat to the security of the region and the world, SPA said.

But Sinan Ciddi is warning that the two air campaigns could hurt President Erdogan.

Editor’s note: Turkey’s decision to cooperate with the United States against the Islamic State came as a surprise. It could also affect any new elections. Mr. Erdogan publicly equates the two groups, which is unfair but suits his purposes. Williams of the Los Angeles Times; and Desmond Butler, John-Thor Dahlburg, Mark D.