Turkish F-16 fighter planes Feb. 4 struck suspected PKK targets in northern Iraq, carrying out what Turkey’s Hurriyet daily counts as the fifth over the border operation in recent months. The Turkish military’s General Staff said the air raids, launched from bases in Diyarbakir, lasted 12 hours and hit a total of 77 targets. The PKK’s notorious “Hakurk Camp” that was also targeted in the December and January raids was hit again. The villages of Avashin and Basyan were also reportedly hit. No casualties were reported, as residents had abandoned the villages after the previous bombardments. Meanwhile, clashes between Turkish security forces and the PKK left ten guerillas dead outside the southeastern Turkish city Bingol. (Hurriyet, AHN, Feb. 5)
About 150 activists from Turkey’s Democratic Society Party (DSP) have established a peace camp at Mount Cudi in Sirnak province near the Iraqi border to demand a non-military solution to the conflict. (New Anatolian, Feb. 6)
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