In response to recent PKK terrorism taking place in urban areas, Turkey's counterterrorism strategy is shifting toward tracing back the sources of ammunition, stopping them, and disabling the mobilization of terrorist activities before the attacks take place, said an official from Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday in Istanbul.
"The aim [of Turkey's counterterrorism] is not to kill more people but the aim is to stop their [PKK] mobility, stop their resources and render them ineffective," the official, who spoke to Daily Sabah and preferred to remain anonymous, said.
Turkey seeks to increase counter-radicalizing measures to stop youth from being radicalized and used by the PKK, the official added saying, "young boys and guns are explosive, and they should work in political parties, not be covered in masks and involved burning Molotov cocktails."
"They need to be given a future and belief that they would be able to make a living, think, talk as they like, and also respect others' lives," she said and added that the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the PKK's youth branch, exploits youth.
Touching on the reports that the PKK built up weaponry during the reconciliation process, the official said "the buildup has been done and now they are using the weapons."
"More than half of the recent police and gendarmerie losses are from bombing by improvised explosive devices (IED) and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED)," said the official commenting on the bombs the PKK has been using in attacks against Turkish security forces: "That is why we say [to other states] do not give ammunition to the wrong hands."
Recently, there have been claims that the PKK has been using ammunition manufactured in Germany, against Turkish security forces.
"When you look at the list of incidents, there actually are only one or two clashes. Most of the PKK attack police cars, police posts, check points. Our operations are actually against the caches, their personnel, their networks, we are not going on hunting trips," she said.
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Ph.D. holder in Political Science and International Relations, editorial coordinator at Daily Sabah
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