Turkish opposition leader escapes assassination attempt

[GennGreymane]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/0...131927382.html

Turkey's main opposition party leader has survived an assassination attempt, escaping a gunfire unharmed in the northeast of the country, the interior minister has said.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu was travelling along a road near the city of Artvin on Thursday when his convoy came under the attack from the woods.

Interior Minister Efkan Ala told Turkey's NTV news channel that three soldiers were injured in the exchange of fire and an operation had been launched to pursue the attackers who he said were from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"Terrorists fired on members of the gendarmerie who were protecting the convoy. One was seriously wounded and two were slightly hurt," he said.

The Kurdish armed group has not immediately responded to the allegation.

NTV and CNN Turk broadcast images of police firing at the alleged attackers.

"Don't worry about us. We are ok. We are currently in a safe area," Kilicdaroglu told Turkey's NTV channel.

A Turkish official said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the prime minister had been briefed by the local governor about the incident.

The government has accused the PKK of a series of attacks this month in the southeast of Turkey, where the group has fought for three decades.

The PKK have claimed responsibility for at least one of those attacks, which involved a strike on a police station.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK first took up arms in 1984 with the aim of carving out an independent state for Turkey's Kurdish minority, although it now focuses more on rights and demands for greater autonomy.

Turkey, the European Union and the United States have labelled the PKK a "terrorist" group.

[madokbro]

He is currently safe and has announced that he will go through with the opening of the new government bulding as planned. Not much left to see there, except may be some questions on PKK managing to have quite the presence in the Blacksea region(which has close to zero Kurdish population), enough to orchestrate an assasination attempt for, if I may be so bold, quite a level headed and open politican compared to our much more conservative options.

Actually, Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu very closely resemble Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively.

[ParanoiD84]

Though they said that this was not directed at one person rather then just another day in the ongoing clashes between PKK and turkish army in that region. So there is a chance they where not out to kill him at all.

But is there a good reason they would want him dead?

[madokbro]

But is there a good reason they would want him dead?

He is a state official. PKK is a group that encourages suicide bombing of the civilian population(Kızılay is of course the first incident that comes to mind again) in the name of staying relevant. They don't appear to need a lot of excuse for a juicy target.

[ParanoiD84]

He is a state official. PKK is a group that encourages suicide bombing of the civilian population in the name of staying relevant. They don't need a lot of excuse for a juicy target like Kılıçdaroğlu.

That's what i was saying that they just attacked a random convoy like they have done before. But fair enough good thing he got away then

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Maby he should check his friends then, sounds like someone sold him out to the pkk if they knew about location and time for a attack from the woods there.

[madokbro]

PKK, the Kurdistan movements in general actually, are not quite autonomous. As Uğur Mumcu(a very succesful left-wing reporter) revealed before his assasination, they get their intelligence, as well as their equipment, from usually unidentified, international sources. Even some officals from Italy were undeniably involved in that process at one point, believe it or not, for some shitty, unknown reason.

[ParanoiD84]

PKK, the Kurdistan movements in general actually, are not quite autonomous. As Uğur Mumcu(a very succesful left-wing reporter) revealed before his assasination, they get their intelligence, as well as their equipment, from usually unidentified, international sources. Even some officals from Italy were undeniably involved in that process at one point, believe it or not, for some shitty, unknown reason.

Luckily it was a failed attack, one dead for a hole convoy i say is pretty good, could have been alot worse if ied's and rpg's and other explosives where used.

Will we see a offensive against pkk in that region now? or is it like normal stuff and just another thursday in Artvin.

[Shibito]

Or it was Erdocrazy trying to kill him.

[madokbro]

Will we see a offensive against pkk in that region now? or is it like normal stuff and just another thursday in Artvin.

Artvin is actually a very peaceful and quiet town in Blacksea, its entire population is made of the Laz people(mostly fishermen), old, retired Georgians and Turkmen farmers. I doubt anyone actually knows where the PKK base of operations is located there, if there is a such thing. So no, there probably won't be any kind of large-scale repercussions in the area.

[ParanoiD84]

Artvin is actually a very peaceful and quiet town in Blacksea, it's entire population is made of the Laz people(mostly fishermen), old, retired Georgians and Turkmen farmers. I doubt anyone actually knows where the PKK base of operations is located there, if there is a such thing. So no, there probably won't be any kind of large-scale repercussions in the area.

Alright sounds good.