We have no image of PKK’s retreat: Military

ISTANBUL

Some PKK militants are seen during withdrawal from Turkish soil.

Turkish General Staff said it did not have any images or information about the withdrawal of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants from Turkish soil in a statement on May 13.

“There are pictures and reports that terrorists are leaving the borders in the media. We do not have any image or information about the retreat of terrorists,” said the statement on its website. The statement also said that the Turkish Armed Forces’ elements in the region are “acting in line with the law.”

Land Forces Command, Gendarmerie and Special Forces Command continue to do their duties currently in the fields they are charged in, said the statement. The General Staff also said that the unmanned and manned discovery vehicles are also working without changes to their routes.

Meanwhile, the General Staff underlined that Turkey’s border with Syria is protected by the Turkish Land Forces, except the border gates. The General Staff also stated that the protection of the border gates is not part of the Turkish Armed Forces’ responsibility, according to law. It stated that all people and goods that are captured while trying to pass the borders illegally are announced on the website of the General Staff. The statement came two days after the explosions in the town of Reyhanlı in Hatay on the border with Syria that caused the deaths of 49 people.