Turkish airstrikes against Kurds throw ceasefire into jeopardy

Turkey fighter jets carried out twin bomb attacks on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, with more said to be on the way, threatening to bring to an end a two-year ceasefire between the group, which is outlawed in Turkey, and the government.

The raids form part of a stepping up by Turkish government against what they call the “terrorist threats” against the country. The airstrikes came a day after Turkey bombed Isis targets across the border in Syria, the first major show of military force against the group.

It is the first since 2013 that Turkish airstrikes have hit PKK militants, breaking the peace deal between the Turkish government and the US designated terror group. 

The strikes further complicate the US-led war against the extremists, which has relied on Kurdish ground forces, particularly the YPG and Peshmerga, in making gains in Iraq and Syria.

Tension surged after an Isis-affiliated suicide bomber killed at least 32 people in the border town of Suruc on Monday. Groups in the Kurdish-majority south-east of the country blamed the Turkish government, accusing it of supporting Isis, which Ankara has denied.

The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its allies, had largely observed the ceasefire over the past two years until its armed wing, the HPG, claimed responsibility for the killing of two police officers on Wednesday in retaliation for the Suruc attack. Another police officer was killed on Thursday, and there have been other attacks across the country.

PKK declared the ceasefire with Turkey effectively over after Turkish forces launched airstrikes on the group’s camps in northern Iraq.

The attacks threaten to put an end to the already shaky peace process that began in 2012 after 30 years of conflict, with the PKK having been fighting for autonomy since 1984. “The ceasefire has been unilaterally ended by the Turkish state and the Turkish military. The truce has no meaning any more after these intense airstrikes by the occupant Turkish army,” the PKK said on its website.

A spokesman in Iraq for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (known as the PKK), said the strikes spelled the end of a peace deal announced in 2013.

“Turkey has basically ended the ceasefire,” the PKK's Zagros Hiwa said. “The first wave of strikes launched overnight did not appear to cause casualties.”

Police in Turkey police have detained nearly 600 people in raids across the country over the past two days, many for their suspected links to the PKK and Isis.

The attacks have prompted Turkey to say that it would allow its air bases to be used by the US-led coalition forces for operations against Isis – including the Incirlik airbase, and potential use of the air base in Diyarbakir, from which Friday’s attacks were launched.