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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish forces have launched a new phase of Operation Kapan against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the country’s eastern provinces, Turkey’s interior ministry said Friday.
Operation Kapan 8 covers Agri, Kars, and Igdir provinces and involves 1,012 troops, according to a ministry statement published by the state-owned Anadolu Agency.
The first phase of the operation was launched on January 11 in the southeastern province of Mardin. The seventh phase was launched two days ago in Siirt province.
Ankara “successfully” completed its months-long Operation Kiran in January, which targeted alleged PKK positions inside Turkey. The interior ministry claimed Turkish forces “neutralized” 144 PKK fighters in the operation since its launch in August.
The Turkish government uses the term “neutralized” to denote death, injury, or capture.
The PKK is an armed opposition group which has fought a decades-long war with the Turkish state for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey.
It is considered as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Turkey routinely launches land and air operations against the group at home, in the Kurdistan Region, and in Iraq’s disputed territories of Shingal and Makhmour. It also attacks Kurdish forces in northern Syria, accusing them of fostering ties with the PKK.
The PKK does not usually release statements on Turkish operations unless it suffers major losses or a senior commander is killed.
The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people on both sides, including civilians, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).
A ceasefire came into effect in 2013 during the short-lived peace process, which lasted until July 2015 when the talks collapsed.
Since then, 4,825 people have been killed, including 2,859 PKK fighters, 1,229 Turkish soldiers, 489 civilians, and 226 people of unknown affiliation, according to ICG figures, last updated March 5.
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