In an unexpected turn of events in Turkey’s capital, the authorities have identified one of the perpetrators involved in an attack at a defence installation that was violent recently as Mine Sevjin Alcicek. He is a former HDP affiliate who, some years ago, had represented HDP’s Hakkari branch in 2015. Alcicek has been identified after five persons were killed in an attack on an important defense establishment.
The attack occurred when armed robbers hijacked a taxi, unfortunately killing the driver and continued their rampage to the TUSAS facility located on the outskirts of Ankara. Both attackers wore automatic weapons as they launched an assault by exploding grenades and shooting, killing over twenty people in the process. Both attackers died.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya later released the identities of the two, naming them as Mine Sevjin Alcicek and Ali Orek and linking them to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
The Kurdish War
The PKK movement started late in the 1970s and turned into an armed uprising against the Turkish government by 1984. Their goal was to have an independent Kurdish state within Turkey. The conflict peaked in the mid-1990s, causing massive population displacement and the razing of many villages in southeastern Turkey, which was largely inhabited by Kurds.
Today, the Kurdish people are dispersed across several countries of the Middle East, with approximately 30 million Kurds mostly residing in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey’s mountainous regions. PKK’s activities have seen it branded as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Regional Escalation
Massing of Turkish Military Forces Post-Attack Mayhem In the wake of the Ankara attack, Turkey increased its military thrust. Turkey’s military launched a widespread assault on Syria’s northern and eastern regions. Over 24 hours, Turkish drones killed 27 civilians in Syria as part of at least 45 recorded drone strikes and four fighter jet operations striking at essential infrastructure, including utilities and energy facilities.
Turkey Attacks Back
The Turkish defense ministry declared that it has led major operations against what it called “terrorist targets” in northern Iraq and Syria. According to the Turkish statement, those operations have destroyed 32 strategic locations. However, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported significant civilian casualties with 12 deaths and 25 injuries in northeastern Syria because of Turkish airstrikes.
The SDF, defeated ISIS in Syria by 2019, finds themselves in a difficult position. For Turkey, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units-the force that dominates SDF-is an extension of the PKK. Turkish forces with their allied groups of rebels have taken control of various areas of northern Syria through multiple interventions since 2016, primarily in SDF-controlled regions.
This really exemplifies the continued complications of regional politics and security concerns within the Middle East, and more specifically concerning Kurdish autonomy and national interests for Turkey.
Category: World News
Tags: #TurkeyConflict #KurdishIssue #AnkaraAttack #MiddleEastSecurity #PKK
