Turkish soldiers kill five Kurdish rebels
TUNCELI, Turkey, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Turkish soldiers killed five Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in one of the biggest skirmishes since the government announced plans to address Kurdish grievances in July, sources said on Tuesday.
The clashes late on Monday in a remote region in eastern Turkey came days after a group of PKK rebels surrendered after returning from neighbouring Iraq to support Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's reform process.
Operations against the PKK continued on Tuesday, and the army had deployed more soldiers, backed by helicopter gunships to the region, military sources said on condition their names were not used.
Erdogan in July launched his so-called Kurdish initiative, backed by the European Union, which calls for expanding political and cultural rights for the country's estimated 12 million Kurds. The reforms are aimed at helping end a decades-old conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people. (Writing by Ayla Jean Yackley)
The clashes late on Monday in a remote region in eastern Turkey came days after a group of PKK rebels surrendered after returning from neighbouring Iraq to support Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's reform process.
Operations against the PKK continued on Tuesday, and the army had deployed more soldiers, backed by helicopter gunships to the region, military sources said on condition their names were not used.
Erdogan in July launched his so-called Kurdish initiative, backed by the European Union, which calls for expanding political and cultural rights for the country's estimated 12 million Kurds. The reforms are aimed at helping end a decades-old conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people. (Writing by Ayla Jean Yackley)
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