Army denies using chemical weapons against the PKK

ANKARA - Agence France- Presse

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The Turkish military denied on Thursday it was using chemical weapons in its fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and said it did not even possess such arms.

"There have been no chemical weapons or ammunition registered in the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces," said the General Staff, which presides over the armed forces, according to the Anatolia news agency.

"The fight against the separatist terrorist organisation continues in compliance with national and universal rules of law," it added.

The military was responding to claims published in some media at home and abroad that the army was using chemical weapons in its operations against  PKK militants.

The claims are "baseless, biased and aimed at slandering the Turkish armed forces," the General Staff said.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.