Turkish Army denies claims of reducing forces in region due to PKK’s withdrawal

ISTANBUL

Photo released by Turkish Armed Forces

The Armed Forces has refuted claims that military forces are being reduced in a number of regions, related to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members’ withdrawal from the country, daily Milliyet reported today.
 
Deployments of military forces are reorganized every summer and winter due to the changing security measures, the Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement, ruling out claims that it was reducing forces in the southeast.
 
The PKK’s withdrawal from Turkish soil will reportedly begin on May 8 and end by autumn, according to Murat Karayılan, a senior leader at the group’s base in the Kandil Mountains of northern Iraq.