4 PKK terrorists surrender in Turkiye

By Cankut Tasdan

ANKARA (AA) - Four more PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in Turkiye as a result of persuasion efforts, the Interior Ministry announced on Sunday.

In a statement, the ministry said the four fled the terror group upon persuasion efforts by police and gendarmerie forces, and eventually surrendered.

They variously joined the terror group between 1992 and 2016 and operated in both Syria and Iraq as well as on Turkish soil.

With the latest surrenders, the number of terrorists who have laid down their arms through persuasion efforts in 2022 now rose to nine, it added.

In Turkiye, offenders linked to terrorist groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.

According to Turkish officials, in recent years the terrorist PKK – battered and demoralized by Turkish security forces' successful operations – has been losing members and failing to attract new ones.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist group by Turkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.