ANKARA: Turkish warplanes on Wednesday pounded targets of Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq in a new wave of strikes in its campaign against militant groups.

Turkey is simultaneously fighting jihadists of the self-styled Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Iraq, in an “anti-terror” operation that began last week after a string of deadly attacks in the country blamed on the two starkly opposed groups.

With the controversial campaign inflaming tensions in Turkey after June 7 legislative elections failed to produce a conclusive result, parliament held an emergency session to discuss the operations.

The strikes were initially aimed at IS jihadists but the focus rapidly switched to include bombing of camps of PKK militants in their stronghold in the mountains of northern Iraq.

“Air operations were conducted throughout the night 28-29 July against the PKK terrorist group inside Turkey and outside,” said the prime minister’s office in a statement, listing six PKK locations in northern Iraq hit by the warplanes.

“The Turkish Republic will continue its rightful fight on legitimate grounds within the framework of national and international law, without succumbing to the threats of terrorist organisations,” the statement added.

Massud Barzani, the president of Kurdish-ruled northern Iraq, has expressed disquiet to Ankara over the air raids.

Turkish foreign ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu was on Wednesday in Arbil for meetings with Iraqi Kurdish leaders, a foreign ministry official said, in a clear bid to calm tensions.

The pro-Kurdish opposition has furiously accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of ordering the air strikes as revenge for its strong performance in June 7 general elections which cost the ruling party its overall majority.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told the parliament’s session that this was now the “last chance” for a peace process with the Kurdish militants.

“The peace process has been continuously used and abused by some sides,” Arinc said.

The PKK has waged an insurgency for self rule and greater rights in Turkey’s southeast since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. The parties appeared to be inching towards a final peace deal after a ceasefire was agreed in 2013. But the current fighting has left the prospects of a settlement as far off as ever.

President Erdogan had said on Tuesday before leaving on a trip to China that it was “not possible” to carry on with a peace process in the face of the current attacks by the PKK.

But the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which won 13 per cent of the vote in the June 7 elections, hit back that Erdogan simply wanted to trigger snap elections and score a political revenge over the party.

“Parliament could stop this war in 48 hours if it wanted,” HDP lawmaker Osman Baydemir told the parliament.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2015

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