One Turkish soldier and nine suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed in the eastern province of Hakkari, daily Hürriyet has reported.
Two soldiers were wounded during the fighting, reports said.
Tuesday, 8 January, 2013
Turkey: 1 soldier and 9 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants killed in clashes in southeast Turkey
Sunday, 25 November, 2012
Spain: Government rejects talks to negotiate Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) disarmament and dissolution
Spain’s right-leaning government flatly rejected Sunday an offer by armed Basque group ETA to negotiate its disarmament and dissolution.
ETA, blamed for 829 killings in more than four decades of fighting for a Basque homeland, said Saturday it was ready to discuss disarming and disbanding with France and Spain under certain conditions.
The group, which last year said it had abandoned violence, said in a statement on Basque newspaper Gara’s website that one outstanding issue was the transfer of Basque prisoners to jails closer to home.
But Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party government refused to consider talks with ETA.
Spain: Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) may disband if it can negotiate release of prisoners
Basque separatist group ETA may disarm and disband, if able to successfully negotiate the release of prisoners with the Spanish government.
The group has released a statement saying they are also willing to demilitarise the Basque region of Euskadi.
Among others, ETA may want to talk about the release of Izaskun Lesak, a suspected ETA leader arrested in France in October.
Thursday, 1 November, 2012
European Union: EU considers sending 200 troops to train Mali army
The European Union is considering sending about 200 troops to train Mali’s army to retake the Islamist-held north, but is not willing to deploy them in battle, EU officials said on Tuesday.
Fears are growing in Europe that the African country could turn into a platform for terrorist attacks, after Islamist fighters seized two-thirds of its territory earlier this year.
“There is a willingness among member states to put boots on the ground - but only on the parade ground,” one of the EU officials said. “I haven’t heard from member states a willingness to put people in the field.”
Sunday, 28 October, 2012
France: Izaskun Lesaka, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Eta) separatist leader arrested by French police
French police have arrested two wanted ETA members. Pro-independence Basque groups criticized theircapture, which takes to 24 the number of ETA members arrested in the past year. 16 arrests have been in France.
Izaskun Lesaka, leader of the banned Basque separatist group ETA, was arrested during a raid by an elite French police unit at a hotel in the town of Macon, near Lyon on Sunday.