ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Two suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), accused of recruiting and training “terrorist fighters”, were apprehended in a wide-scale crackdown on the group in five European countries.
The operation, carried out jointly by Eurojust and Europol, saw raids in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland, the statement added.
“Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre set up a coordination centre on a joint action day to support the operations of the law enforcement authorities in all countries concerned,” it said.
The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office initiated a criminal investigation into the organization in 2017.
Those apprehended allegedly belong to the PKK’s armed wing – the People’s Defence Forces (HPG).
Europol and Eurojust accused them of “recruiting terrorist fighters” and “using training camps and sessions in various countries”.
The PKK, an armed group fighting for greater Kurdish political and cultural rights in Turkey, is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the EU, and the US, for its decades-long war with the Turkish state.
Earlier this year, German authorities shut down two Kurdish publishing houses, alleging the companies were giving the PKK financial backing.
According to German authorities, there are around 14,500 PKK supporters in Germany. In 2008, Germany banned Roj TV for its alleged ties to the PKK.
Late last year the US announced cash rewards for information on three senior PKK leaders, including Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalkan.
A fierce battle between the PKK and Turkey is ongoing in the southeast of Turkey, spilling over into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The group uses the Region as a safe haven and is currently headquartered in the Qandil Mountains.
Turkey has repeatedly launched cross-border incursions and bombing raids targeting the group, in violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.
Both Erbil and Baghdad have called on Ankara to halt its attacks and demanded the PKK withdraw from their territory.
Peace talks between the PKK and the Turkish government made some progress in 2013, but fell apart in July 2015. The conflict has “entered one of its deadliest chapters in nearly four decades,” according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), which is monitoring the conflict.
Up to 40,000 people have died in the conflict since 1984. At least 4,397 people have been killed since the short-lived peace process collapsed, according to the ICG.
The two suspects were apprehended “after a number of house searches conducted simultaneously in five countries”, Europol said in a statement on Wednesday. They have not been named.
The operation, carried out jointly by Eurojust and Europol, saw raids in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland, the statement added.
“Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre set up a coordination centre on a joint action day to support the operations of the law enforcement authorities in all countries concerned,” it said.
The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office initiated a criminal investigation into the organization in 2017.
Those apprehended allegedly belong to the PKK’s armed wing – the People’s Defence Forces (HPG).
Europol and Eurojust accused them of “recruiting terrorist fighters” and “using training camps and sessions in various countries”.
The PKK, an armed group fighting for greater Kurdish political and cultural rights in Turkey, is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the EU, and the US, for its decades-long war with the Turkish state.
Earlier this year, German authorities shut down two Kurdish publishing houses, alleging the companies were giving the PKK financial backing.
According to German authorities, there are around 14,500 PKK supporters in Germany. In 2008, Germany banned Roj TV for its alleged ties to the PKK.
Late last year the US announced cash rewards for information on three senior PKK leaders, including Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalkan.
A fierce battle between the PKK and Turkey is ongoing in the southeast of Turkey, spilling over into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The group uses the Region as a safe haven and is currently headquartered in the Qandil Mountains.
Turkey has repeatedly launched cross-border incursions and bombing raids targeting the group, in violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.
Both Erbil and Baghdad have called on Ankara to halt its attacks and demanded the PKK withdraw from their territory.
Peace talks between the PKK and the Turkish government made some progress in 2013, but fell apart in July 2015. The conflict has “entered one of its deadliest chapters in nearly four decades,” according to the International Crisis Group (ICG), which is monitoring the conflict.
Up to 40,000 people have died in the conflict since 1984. At least 4,397 people have been killed since the short-lived peace process collapsed, according to the ICG.
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