Turkish opposition member kidnapped by suspected Kurdish terrorists in east Turkey / Kurdish vs Turkish Conflict News
Turkish troops launched an operation to free a politician Huseyin Aygun, an ethnic Kurd, kidnapped by Kurdish terrorists near the eastern city of Tunceli.
Party spokesman Haluk Kocduring, said at the televised news conference that Huseyin Aygun, from the main Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party, was abducted on Sunday evening at a roadblock between the town of Ovacik and Tunceli by suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
It is believed to be the first time that the Kurdish militant group has kidnapped a member of Turkish parliament. In the past the PKK has focused on attacking soldiers, journalists and other civilians.
There is no word from the Kurdistan Workers Party. The incident comes at a time of rising tension between the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Turkish army, as Kurds over the border in Northern Syria are beginning to call for more autonomy.
Kurdish MP Huseiyn Aygun abducted by Kurdish terrorists
Huseiyn Aygun was elected to the Parliament to represent Tunceli, where he has worked as a lawyer for nearly 15 years. According to Aygun’s website, his work focuses on human rights abuses, such as the forcible evacuations of Kurdish villages to deny support to the rebels in rural areas, as well as torture cases.
The kidnapping came days after the government claimed troops have killed as many as 115 rebels in town of Semdinli, and after Huseiyn Aygun’s party called for an extraordinary meeting in Parliament to discuss the struggle against the Kurdish terrorists.
The rebellious Kurdish terrorists of the PKK, are fighting for autonomy in the Kurdish-dominated southeast region and maintain bases in northern Iraq from where they launch hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets.
A government campaign to reconcile with Kurds, who make up roughly 20% of Turkey’s nearly 75 million people, by granting them more rights has stalled amid a surge in fighting over the past year.
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