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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A senior Turkish official has renewed a call on Kurdish rebels to lay down their arms and leave the Turkish territory.
Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan's comments Friday came amid reports that the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, was preparing to announce a unilateral cease-fire that would last until Turkey's Nov. 1 elections.
Yalcin dismissed the possible announcement as a tactical maneuver and said Turkey would maintain its battle against the PKK until it gets "results."
Violence between the PKK and the Turkish security forces reignited this summer, shattering a fragile peace process. Close to 150 police and soldiers and hundreds of PKK rebels have been killed in the fighting since July.
The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984.
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