PKK supporters from Europe who join the terrorist group’s ranks in northern Iraq and other regions end up leaving within 20 days, as the PKK continues to lose power amid the Turkish military's successful counterterrorism operations.
According to intelligence sources, the terrorist group’s efforts to recruit new members have produced poor results in recent years. Those who join the group are mostly from Iran, Syria, Iraq and Europe.
However, those who join the PKK from European countries end up abandoning the terrorists within about 20 days after experiencing the terrible living conditions and realizing the group's weakness in the face of the ongoing Turkish operations, Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported Monday, citing intelligence sources.
The terrorists in question try to flee, frequently cry and end up being more of a nuisance than an asset to the PKK.
The terrorists recently held a meeting involving both senior and junior members in the Gara region in northern Iraq, the sources said, adding that in the meeting it was decided that the PKK should allow terrorists to leave its ranks. At the meeting, it was also noted that an unprecedented number of people have been trying to escape the terrorist organization and that at least 85 terrorists caught while attempting to flee had been put in prison in the Qandil area.
Lower-ranking terrorists told their senior counterparts that serious planning errors had been made and that they lacked sufficient support. They also criticized the PKK’s system of punishment, stressing that the terrorist group does not give detained terrorists an opportunity to defend themselves, punishing them immediately. This has resulted in more terrorists leaving the PKK, according to sources.
The terrorists also discussed ways to carry out attacks in areas where the Turkish military is carrying out counterterrorism operations, the sources said.
In addition to the blow those who surrender deliver to the group, interest in joining the PKK has fallen drastically in recent years. According to the statistics, while the number of people who joined the PKK was 703 in 2016, this number fell to 161 in 2017 and 136 in 2018. In 2019, the number fell to 108.
When surrendering, captured PKK terrorists are given the opportunity to confess in order to benefit from the effective remorse law and receive more lenient punishments.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
