Two YPG/PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in southeastern Turkey, the National Defense Ministry said Monday.
Terrorists fleeing the terrorist group in northern Syria turned themselves in at border posts in the Suruç district of Kilis province and Şanlıurfa's Çobanbey area, the ministry said on Twitter.
The Interior Ministry in a Nov. 26 statement said that the dissolution of the PKK has been accelerated due to Turkey's successful counterterrorism operations and strategies both at home and abroad.
The statement said a significant number of terrorists have fled the PKK and surrendered. More than 235 terrorists surrendered to Turkish security forces in 2019 alone.
Once the terrorists surrender, they are provided with many opportunities, including the right to education and the freedom to live without fear of oppression.
They are not ill-treated, can contact their families freely and are provided with essential judicial assistance. The Turkish state offers a variety of services to ensure their social reintegration.
According to some former terrorists, the PKK ringleaders risk the lives of others to save their own and threaten those planning to surrender with torture.
Turkish security forces regularly conduct counterterrorism operations in the eastern and southeastern provinces of Turkey, where the PKK has attempted to establish a strong presence and base. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also carries out cross-border operations in northern Iraq where PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases that they use to carry out attacks on Turkey.
Turkish counterterrorism operations intensified after July 2018 and have become routine since the beginning of another extensive campaign, Operation Claw, which was launched on May 27 and aimed to entirely eliminate the presence of the terrorist organization in northern Iraq.
