PKK refutes "declaration of war"

Erbil, June 22 (AKnews) - Turkey's outlawed armed group Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) refuted responsibility for an improvised explosive device explosion that killed two Turkish policemen in Dersim on Wednesday - described by Turkish Interior Minister as declaration of war by the PKK, .

The bombing in Dersim city, which Turkish media sources said was a remotely detonated bomb attached to a police vehicle, comes just days after the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the group to extend a ceasefire they had announced earlier this year.

PKK foreign relations official Ahmed Deniz told AKnews that "We are not aware of the explosion in Dersim today, and we do not know who has carried out the attack"

Deniz refused to give further comments "since i am not aware of this act"

Following the attack Wednesday, Turkish Interior Minister Osman Gunes accused the PKK of being behind the attack which he described as a "declaration of war"

'The bombing was simultaneous with the PKK ceasefire.. doesa ceasefire mean to place bombs here and there to kill members of the Turkish security forces?" the Turkish news agency Dogan quoted Gunes as saying.

Turkish authorities often accuse the PKK for armed attacks inside the country.

PKK has waged a bloody war against the Turkish state for almost three decades that has claimed around 45,000 people many of them civilians.

On Monday, the PKK said in a statement carried by Firat news agency, a news agency close to the PKK, that PKK would extend a ceasefire on two conditions: the inclusion of jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in the resolution of the Kurdish Issue, and a public pledge from the country's leaders to end military operations against the outlawed party and commit to a peaceful reconciliation.

The PKK has declared 8 unilateral ceasefires over the years in favor of finding peaceful means to resolve the issue,  but the Turkish state - which along with the US and the EU lists the organization as a "terrorist group - has officially refused to enter into negotiations with them.

Writing by Raber Y. Aziz, reporting by Dilshad Saifaddin (AKnews)

22/06/2011 19:58