May 24, 1993, PKK attack
 |
| May 24, 1993 PKK ambush | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Kurdish–Turkish conflict | |||||||
 Locations of Elazığ and Bingöl Turkey | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Turkey |
 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Şemdin Sakık | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 55 unarmed recruits[1][2] | 150 militants[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
33 recruits and 5 civilians killed[1] 22 recruits captured[2] | None[1] | ||||||
The May 24, 1993 PKK ambush was a PKK ambush on Turkish soldiers that was carried out against unarmed Turkish military recruits on the Elazığ-Bingöl highway, executing 33 off-duty Turkish soldiers and 5 civilians, thus breaking the first ever Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) cease-fire with the Turkish government.[1][4] Turkish authorities claimed that according to Abdullah Öcalan's testimony in 1999, it was carried out by a regional PKK commander.;[5][unreliable source?].
Despite many Turkish authority claims, the PKK has never taken responsibility.[6]
Background
In late 1991, Turkish President Turgut Özal attempted to establish dialogue with the PKK. He had said the idea of a federation could be discussed and a Kurdish language TV channel could be opened.[7] He also passed a bill, partially unbanning the use of the Kurdish language.[8] In response the PKK declared a cease-fire on March 20, 1993.[9] On April 17, 1993 Turgut Özal died under suspicious circumstances.[10]
The attack
Turkish authorities claimed that PKK commander Şemdin Sakık had responded to the previous state's decision with a show of force and ordered PKK units in Diyarbakır to close down all main highways in the province and nearby on May 24. One of these roads was the Elazığ-Bingöl highway[11] which was allegedly attacked by over 150 PKK militants,[3] coming from the South-Eastern mountains.[1] PKK followed orders and stopped several buses that were transferring unarmed Turkish soldiers in civilian clothing and then dragged[3] 33 soldiers and 5 civilians[1] (including four teachers)[11] from their vehicles and executed them.[3] Some 22 soldiers were briefly captured by the PKK, before being freed by Turkish rescue operations.[2] The military was criticized for the fact that the soldiers were unarmed and there were no units protecting them.[7]
Aftermath
The attack broke the PKK's cease-fire with the Turkish government[7] and in response to this, the Turkish military intensified its anti-insurgency operations against the PKK during the following months.[1] A total of 92 Turkish security forces, 203 Kurdish rebels and 29 civilians were killed during anti-insurgency operations in May and June, an additional 120 Kurds were arrested during these operations.[2]
Turkish claimed that Kucuk Zeki, the PKK's commander in Muş at the time, described the attack as a turning point in the conflict, as the state stepped up its operations against the PKK and "the war got much worse".[11]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Turkey - Atlapedia® Online". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d Kurds in Turkey (page 11) Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d "1993 Human Rights Report: TURKEY". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ PKK has repeatedly asked for a ceasefire of peace since their establishment in the past 17 years Archived 2011-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Timeline Kurdistan". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ "The European court of Human rights judgement" (PDF). ETCHR. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ a b c "TURKEY - History of PKK in Turkey". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ Kurdish Language Policy in Turkey Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Phillips, David L. (2017-07-05). The Kurdish Spring: A New Map of the Middle East. Routledge. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-351-48037-6.
- ^ "Remains of Turgut Özal reinterred - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ a b c Page 214 Archived 2014-10-07 at the Wayback Machine