Turkish soldier killed in fight with Kurdish rebels

[Aidoneus]

Turkish soldier killed in fight with Kurdish rebels

Ferit Demir, Tuncelli
Monday September 29, 2003
The Guardian

One Turkish soldier was killed in a firefight with Kurdish rebels in Turkey's troubled south-east, security officials said yesterday.

The clash between Turkey's troops and Kurdish militants, who ended a unilateral ceasefire on September 1, raged on in remote terrain on the mountainous border of Tunceli and Bingol provinces.

"One soldier is dead ... more units have been sent to the area with helicopter support," a Turkish official said on condition of anonymity.

--snip--

http://www.guardian.co.uk/turkey/story/0,12700,1051799,00.html

[Garion_55]

1. great.

hopefully this doesnt escalate into something major and we are forced to get our troops involved. dont they have enough problems?

[catmandu57]

2. Could be the start of something

like widespread war in the region, the start of the Iraqi civil war. Kurds want their own territory and there's noone but the Turks to keep them from grabbing n.iraq.

[pbeal]

3. This is not news

The Turks and Kurds have been shooting each other since the introduction of gun powder,

If the shooting had happened in northen Iraq then it would be news. This happened in SE turkey where the kurds have been in open rebellion against the Turks for the past 200 years.

[Aidoneus]

4. all true in spirit, but with a small exception

I think only the Moros, Chechens, and S./N.American natives have been involved in their liberation struggle for a longer period.. but a few years back the Kurds (or, "Mountain Turks" as they're known by the occupying state) declared a cease fire with respect to the war against the US-backed Turkish military & state--that's recently been tossed aside; clashes are becoming frequent again; the Turkish state has been demanding that the US occupation forces treat KADEK (or anybody they claim is them) in south Kurdistan like they do in occupied-north Kurdistan; the Turkish state, the al-Obeidi Arabs, Turkey-backed Turkmen political groups in the north, Shia Turkmen, and Sadriyun are quietly getting their ducks in a row with how they think about the Kurdish militias & US occupation forces.

This is news because it's a sign of general escalation of something that can't really afford to stand on shakier ground and still pretend to be plusgood to the militarist fan club.