'Turkey to continue fearless fight against terrorism'

By Gozde Bayar and Rabia Iclal Turan

ANKARA (AA) - Undaunted, Turkey will continue its fearless struggle against terrorism, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.

Speaking in Istanbul after Friday prayers, Erdogan reiterated the country’s resolute stance against terrorism in the wake of a PKK terrorist attack Thursday in the southeastern Diyarbakir province which took the lives of seven civilians and injured nine others.

Voicing support for the many mothers in Diyarbakir staging sit-in protests against the terrorist PKK abducting and trying to recruit their children, he said the current number of protesters may swell to the thousands.

Some 28 families are staging a demonstration in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, claiming that the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) forcibly recruited their sons to the terrorist PKK.

The Turkish government has charged the HDP with having numerous links and providing support to the terrorist PKK.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Turning to regional affairs, Erdogan also said that at a trilateral summit next Monday with Russian and Iranian leaders, he would discuss recent developments in Idlib, Syria -- about 400 miles (250 miles) from Diyarbakir, across Turkey’s southern border.

“We will continue to discuss developments in Idlib, including observation posts and the fight against terror organizations,” he said.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib would remain in areas where they were already present, while Russia and Turkey would carry out joint patrols in the area to prevent a resumption of fighting.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.