Reuters AlertNet Lite - Security forces kill 5 Kurd rebels in SE Turkey

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Security forces kill 5 Kurd rebels in SE Turkey

05 Dec 2006 13:20:13 GMT
Source: Reuters

TUNCELI, Turkey, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Turkish security forces said on Tuesday they had killed five Kurdish rebels overnight in clashes in the country's impoverished southeast.

The security forces also confiscated nearly four tonnes of food supplies as well as weapons and materials used in mine construction from a cave used as a winter base by the outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The PKK, which commonly uses mines in guerrilla attacks, called a unilateral ceasefire on Oct. 1 but clashes between the guerrillas and Turkish security forces have continued unabated.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.

Turkey has dismissed the latest ceasefire as irrelevant and says the PKK must lay down its arms.

The European Union, which Turkey hopes to join, and the United States have put the PKK on their terrorism blacklist.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan discussed ways of cracking down on Kurdish separatists with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in weekend talks that highlighted a convergence of views between Ankara and Tehran on the issue.

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Last updated:Tue Dec 5 13:23:00 2006