PKK structure similar to state police: intelligence report

Fevzi Kızılkoyun - ANKARA

CİHAN photo

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has been establishing urban structures similar to the state police, which include gathering intelligence and carrying out controls for safety and order, according to a police department intelligence report which covered the last 40 days of terror and violence in Turkey. 

The report suggested the PKK established structures for law and order along with intelligence gathering in cities during the term of the ceasefire, a settlement similar to police organizations. Militants in the mountains have been located in cities and organized under the name of the outlawed Revolutionary Patriotic Youth Movement (YDG-H) since its formation in 2013.

They have launched intelligence units and carried out controls in their regions, set up courts, intercepted roads and made identity checks to maintain safety and order as if they were police officers. The group has put pressure on citizens to be addressed instead of security officers if they apply in the event of conflicts, and carried out recording a list of dissents whom were then targeted. 

The PKK activated urban militants, while keeping rural members in the background, the report said.

The group set up autonomous zones and staged attacks on police officers to keep them away from these regions, according to the report.

The PKK militants in urban areas recently suffered major causalities, but they were aiming for broader provocations and actions which would include citizens as well.   

A total of 31 police officers have been killed since July 22 and two officers were kidnapped by the PKK.

HDP recruits militants for PKK: Governor

The governor of southeastern Hakkari province, Yakup Canbolat, suggested the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has recruited militants for the PKK, according to a report prepared by the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Hakkari’s Yüksekova was the pilot region for the first self-government, the governor said, noting that whenever the governorate makes proposal to the mayors, they first consult with the mountain militants.