"If the promises given are not kept and attempts are made to resort to oriental tricks such as constant stalling, deceitful name changing and doing whatever they want, the sin will not be on us. We will continue our ongoing operations, if necessary, until we eliminate the last terrorist, without leaving a single stone on top of another, without leaving a single head on his shoulder," Erdogan said on Saturday, according to Anadolu Agency.
A letter from the imprisoned leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, was shared with the public on Thursday. In it, he urged the group to disarm and disband. His message has sparked hope for an end to four decades of a conflict that has taken 40,000 lives.
On Saturday, the PKK announced their full support for Ocalan’s message and declared a unilateral ceasefire, reserving the right to self defense. But they warned that in order for peace talks to be successful, “a suitable democratic political and legal foundation must also be established.”
Erdogan indicated he is open to peace talks, but with caution.
"Of course, we give priority to discussion, conversation and compromise in resolving our issues, and we continue to do so. From now on, we will continue to observe mutual respect, tolerance and dialogue instead of hate speech, fighting and tension, but we always keep our iron fist ready in case the hand we extend is left in the air or bitten," he said.
Turkey carried out multiple attacks on suspected PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region in the days after Ocalan’s message was released, according to the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), which monitors the conflict.
"Since Ocalan's message, Turkey has bombed the borders of both Duhok and Erbil provinces seven times,” CPT member Kamaran Osman told Rudaw on Saturday.
Two strikes targeted Erbil province and the remaining occurred in Duhok province.
“Turkey has bombed Khwakurk once and Khnera once on the Sidakan border in Erbil province,” Osman said. “The other five bombardments were in Duhok province. Two of them on Mount Gara and the other three bombardments were in Matin, especially on the borders of the villages of Goharzeh and Kani Balagh.”
The PKK has bases in the Kurdistan Region.
