Turkish army has no weapons of mass destruction, says defense minister

Umut Erdem - ANKARA

AA photo

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) does not possess any weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has said.

“There are no chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons in the inventory of the TSK,” Yılmaz said in response to a motion filed by a deputy of the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

In his motion, HDP Tunceli deputy Alican Ünlü said four militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were killed while around a 10-hectares of land were burned during a military operation in Tunceli’s Ovacık district during a shelling on Sept., 16, 2015, asking whether banned weapons were used in the operation. 

“During the TSK shelling which went on for two days, four PKK members lost their lives and around 10 hectares of land was burned. Families who went to the Forensic Medicine Institute for identification have said bodies were completely burned beyond recognition, voicing concern that banned weapons may have been used,” Ünlü said at the time.

In his response, Yılmaz stressed that Turkey was party to various treaties and conventions concerning proliferation of WMDs, as well as to the related export control regime.