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 | | PKK extended a unilateral ceasefire to pursue a peaceful end to Turkey's 25-year conflict |
A Turkish soldier and a Kurdish separatist fighter have been killed in a battle in southeast Turkey, a security source has said.
The fighting on Sunday occured in the mountainous region near Yuksekova in Hakkari province, the source said. The separatist group - the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - last month extended a unilateral ceasefire until July 15 in order to pursue a peaceful resolution to Turkey's 25-year separatist conflict. But it said it reserved the right to defend itself if it came under attack by the military. The PKK - listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the world - has waged an armed campaign for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish east and southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed some 45,000 lives, most of them Kurds. The group's efforts have been frustrated by a lack of support from other nations in the region, who each fear that recognising their own Kurdish communities' claims for autonomy could provoke instability. Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, last month said that Turkey had "an historic opportunity" to end the conflict which has hindered the country's chances of being accepted into the European Union, as well as being a source of regional tension. The government has expanded cultural and political rights of minority Kurds under reforms aimed at improving its chance of winning entry to the EU.
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Tags: PKK Turkey
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