The PKK's attacks in Germany, which intensified following the launch of Operation Olive Branch, have recently further escalated as the Turkish community lives in fear on a daily basis across the country while authorities fail to act.
Kocasinan Mosque in the German capital city of Berlin was set ablaze over the weekend. The attack on Kocasinan Mosque came only a day after another attack on the Turkish community on the German soil. Akşemsettin Mosque in Lauffen in Baden-Württemberg was the target of a Molotov cocktail attack on Friday night. As the perpetrators remain anonymous and disregarded by German authorities, there have already been signs from circles close to the PKK that the Turkish community would be targeted.
Also last week, Fatih Mosque in Bremen was sprayed with racist graffiti for the second time in the last 6 months. In late February there was also an attack on the Turkish Embassy in Berlin by PKK-affiliated terrorist sympathizers as the embassy building was hit with paint bombs in the PKK's colors.
The Turkish community in Germany levies harsh criticism at German authorities for keeping silent and turning a blind eye to PKK vandalism on German soil. "Terrorist attacks continue in Germany! Last night the Berlin Kocasinan Mosque was set ablaze. The German state and the public are silent on these terrorist attacks. The terrorism will not win anywhere!" the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) said yesterday.
The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DİTİB) has also recently slammed German authorities for failing to protect the Turkish community in Germany. "In the light of current developments, security forces are increasingly responsible for protecting us all from attacks of this kind, especially from the extreme end of the political spectrum. Our members will not be intimidated and continue to pray for peace," DİTİB said in a written statement last month.
Germany has witnessed a growing number of radical protests and violence by PKK and Democratic Union Party (PYD) supporters in recent weeks, as the group launched a campaign against Turkey's counter-terrorism operation in northwestern Syria.
