BERLIN
Backers of the PKK -- a designated terrorist group in the EU and United States -- carried out more than 40 violent attacks last year against Turkish citizens in Germany but only five offenders were detained.
According to records kept by Turkish consulates and shown to Anadolu Agency, at least 19 Turkish citizens were injured, three of them seriously, when they were assaulted by followers of the PKK during rallies in the cities of Cologne, Nuremberg and Stuttgart in 2016.
PKK sympathizers also carried out attacks on eight mosques, 10 offices belonging to Turkish associations, a local newspaper and several shops, often using Molotov cocktails, explosives or other flammable materials, the Turkish missions said.
From among the 42 attacks recorded by Turkish officials, in only two incidents were offenders taken into custody.
In eight attacks targeting mosques across several cities -- including Kassel, Heilbronn and Emmerich am Rhein -- German police did not make any arrests.
More than 20 attacks targeting Turkish associations, cultural centers and businesses also remain unsolved to date, although PKK followers claimed responsibility for many of these incidents through social media accounts.
PKK followers also used Molotov cocktails to target the local offices of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), one of the largest Turkish migrant organizations in the country.
- PKK ban
The PKK was outlawed in 1993 in Germany, which hosts a three-million-strong Turkish community. But the group remains active in the country, with more than 14,000 followers, according to the latest report from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
The terrorist group is running propaganda, recruitment and fundraising activities in Germany through various cultural organizations.
Turkish politicians have repeatedly slammed Germany for turning a blind eye to the PKK activities, and have long pressured Berlin to take stricter measures.
More PKK sympathizers rallied in Frankfurt on Saturday, carrying banned posters and flags bearing the insignia of the terrorist group and portraits of its leader Abdullah Ocalan, sparking outrage in Turkey.
Amid Turkey’s sharp criticism, Germany’s federal interior ministry spokesman, Tobias Plate, stressed on Monday that a PKK ban remains in effect in the country and the authorities were committed to countering activities by the group and its affiliates.
But he declined to comment on the inaction of Frankfurt police against the PKK rally, saying enforcement of the ban was the responsibility of each federal state.
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015 and since then has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,200 security personnel and civilians, including women and children.
