Terrorists target security forces in eastern Turkey

ANKARA 

Turkish General Staff on Saturday said five terrorists were killed and one other wounded in daylong clashes with security forces in the eastern province of Agri.

A group of terrorists opened fire with rifles on soldiers in Diyadin district, wounding four Turkish troops.

"Three soldiers are slightly wounded, with having no life-threatening injuries, and the other one is undergoing surgery at Agri State Hospital," the General Staff said in a statement.

The attack on the Turkish Armed Forces comes less than two months before the planned general elections in Turkey.

Turkish people are due to cast their votes on June 7 and elect the 550 members of the Turkish parliament.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu earlier said on Twitter the Turkish Armed Forces were “duly responding to the treacherous attack” in Agri.

Davutoglu said that he had been in contact with the Chief of Staff and Interior Ministry authorities.

“Have no doubt. The security of the elections, where our people will vote with their free will, will surely be provided,” Davutoglu said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the clashes between the Turkish troops and 25 terrorists.

He said: "I strongly condemn this attack on our security forces who work selflessly to ensure the security of our people.

"The attack aims to shatter the environment of peace in the country, and sabotage the solution process," he said, referring to the government initiative launched in early 2013 to settle the Kurdish issue and secure an end to the decades-old conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK which has so far claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.

He also warned a political party, without giving names, against using arms to get votes in the upcoming June 7 elections.

"This party is trying to procure votes through the activities of this terrorist organization. The way to democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms is not through weapons; it is through the ballot box," he said.

'Terrorizing politics'

Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan also condemned what he said was a "terrorist attack on our security forces who try their best to ensure the peace and security of our people in Agri.”

"It is unacceptable to use pressure, violence and arms for political competition, and to place a lien on public will," he said on Twitter, calling for an end to "partisanship supported by terrorist organizations" and warning against "terrorizing politics.”

The Turkish Interior Ministry also released a statement saying, "The attack during the deployment of troops to the region justifies our sensitivity regarding public order, and the necessity for the measures taken.”

"All institutions of our government are determined to take and implement all necessary measures in the face of such incidents which undermine public order and jeopardize the security of our citizens," it said.

Turkish troops retaliated to the attack, leading to an exchange of fire around the village of Yukaritutek in the district of Diyadin, the Turkish General Staff said in an earlier statement Saturday.

"Upon a tip that a terrorist organization planned a 'Spring Fest' event on Saturday and Sunday in the area with the purpose of propaganda, and in order to pressure locals to vote for certain nominees in the upcoming June 7 elections, a total of 15 military teams from the Agri Provincial Gendarmerie were dispatched to the area over Friday night in order to secure the area and establish public order upon the order of Agri governor," the statement read.

'Cross the threshold'

Manned reconnaissance planes, attack helicopters and commandos were deployed to the area, and the clashes were ongoing, it added.

Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, said at the Turkish parliament in Ankara that the HDP could be a force in the ongoing efforts to find a solution to the decades-old conflict with the PKK, but would need to cross the election threshold and gain representation in parliament in order to do so.

"The success of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party in Turkey's June 7 elections would help facilitate the disarming of the PKK," he said on Wednesday.

PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.

The group's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has called on the terrorist organization to lay down arms.

- 'Faith in weapons'

The HPD is taking part in the general election for the first time under its own banner and, in line with other parties in Turkey, needs to win at least 10 percent of votes in order to gain seats in parliament.

Demirtas denied claims in Turkey on Wednesday that members of the PKK had been on HDP candidate lists for the polls.

He said: "The faith in weapons being silenced will be revealed by our general election results.

"The success of the HDP will facilitate the process of disarmament."

He said the HDP would announce its election manifesto on April 21 in Istanbul.

Current HDP lawmakers ran as independents in the 2011 general election, receiving about 6.57 percent of the vote, which corresponds to about 3 million voters.

All pro-Kurdish lawmakers had previously stood for the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, before the HDP was established in 2012.

Turkey will hold general elections on June 7. About 56 million Turkish citizens will vote on June 7, in the country's 25th general elections, to elect the 550 members of parliament.