Outlawed Kurdish militants are temporarily suspending “operations” in Turkey after the massive quake in the country and Syria, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader.
“Stop operations in Turkey, in the cities. We have decided to not conduct any operation as long as the Turkish state does not attack,” leader Cemil Bayık was quoted as saying late Thursday by ANF, a news agency close to the PKK.
“The quake caused a massive disaster. Thousands of our people are under the rubble. Everyone must mobilize using all their means,” he added.
The PKK has been waging a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that has killed tens of thousands of civilians and security personnel.
In December, a bomb hit an armored police van in southeastern Turkey injuring nine. A month later, a bombing killed six people in İstanbul that Ankara blamed on the PKK.