President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the Turkish security forces are writing history in their fight against terrorism. Speaking at the ceremony of the 178th establishment anniversary of the Turkish gendarmerie forces on Wednesday in Ankara, President Erdoğan praised the success of recent terror operations.
"It is very important for us to continue on in this success. You are writing history," he said.
"The Republic of Turkey is the latest and youngest representative of our century-long rooted state tradition. Indeed, we have made this country a homeland to ourselves with a struggle full of heroism, and today we defend our country with a fight full of heroism," he added. Erdoğan also praised the Turkish gendarmerie forces' contribution in the fight against terrorism and underlined that they will strengthen the gendarmerie forces in every aspect.
"Our gendarmerie is making life unbearable for terrorists with ongoing operations within our borders, and I would like to express my gratitude to them on behalf of my nation. I believe that the gendarmerie forces will achieve greater success in the future," Erdoğan added.
With the aim of eradicating the PKK terrorist group, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has intensified its efforts. The TSK recently announced that since the beginning of 2017 around 1,000 terrorists have been killed and tons of ammunition, weapons and other materials have been seized from the terrorist group. According to figures from the Turkish military, 1,001 terrorists have been killed in Turkey and northern Iraq, where the PKK's headquarters are located, since the beginning of the new year up until June 14. During this period 161 PKK terrorists also surrendered to the TSK.
In addition to this, the Turkish military discovered and destroyed 640 caves, depots and warehouses used by the PKK in the southeast of the country. The Turkish military has been carrying out operations in the Kato Mountain in southeastern Turkey's Şırnak province. The mountain used to be a safe haven for the PKK, but the group was dealt a heavy blow after operations began two months ago.
Security forces have so far seized 1,159 weapons, 557,565 pieces of ammunition, more than five tons of ammonium nitrate and more than 80 tons of food and basic materials in the Kato Mountain Operation.
Commenting on the ongoing state of emergency that was declared after the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt perpetrated by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), Erdoğan reiterated his remarks that the state of emergency was declared against terrorist organizations, not against the people. "The state of emergency is only used against terrorist organizations. The daily life of each citizen has not been affected at all," Erdoğan said.