ISTANBUL
A high-ranking Turkish military official said Saturday that the PKK terrorist organization was not only a menace to Turkey but also a threat to regional security.
Speaking at a NATO’s Military Committee conference in Istanbul, Turkish Armed Forces’ Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar said:
“The PKK, which benefits from the situation in Iraq and Syria, is trying to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the international community," said Hulusi Akar. “In the meantime, [the PKK] continues to take lives of innocent people, organizing brutal attacks and killing the elderly, women, men, and children.”
Turkey has seen a surge in terrorist attacks since the PKK resumed its armed campaign at the end of July. More than 100 Turkish security personnel have been martyred in attacks focused on Turkey’s southeastern provinces.
Akar also addressed the Daesh issue. The group has claimed control of large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Describing Daesh as “the most barbaric terrorist group [the world] has ever seen", Akar said: “Daesh’s activities are taking place at the Turkish border and seriously threatening NATO security.”
The group has claimed control of large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Akar added that Turkey is determined to continue its fight against Daesh with the international coalition.
A U.S.-coalition has led an Anti-Daesh campaign in the region since last August.
Daesh can no longer operate freely in roughly 25 to 30 percent of populated areas of Iraqi territory where it once could, helped in part by nearly 4,100 coalition airstrikes in the country since last summer, according to the Pentagon.
Speaking at the same event, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Gen. Petr Pavel said that Turkey’s presence in Afghanistan, Kosovo and NATO’s offshore operations shows how the country has devoted itself to the principle of alliance that holds them together.
The Military Committee, NATO’s highest military authority meeting, will continue until Sept 13 in Istanbul.
"The conference will focus on the implementation and progress of the Readiness Action Plan, regional security and its challenges, NATO’s current mission in Afghanistan (...) and the Western Balkans," said a statement on NATO’s website.
A new director general of the International Military Staff will be elected at the end of the conference.
