TURKEY: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says the car bomb attacks which killed more than 30 people may have been related to the conflict in Syria or to Turkey's own peace process with Kurdish militants

Record ID: 217631

  • Title: TURKEY: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says the car bomb attacks which killed more than 30 people may have been related to the conflict in Syria or to Turkey's own peace process with Kurdish militants
  • Date: 11th May 2013
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (MAY 11, 2013) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SAYING: "Another sensitive issue is that Hatay province is on the border with Syria. These actions may have been taken to provoke those sensitivities."
  • Embargoed: 26th May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVADBQSH9XSDJQXSNDERFBQYVFWY
  • Story Text: Saturday's (May 11) deadly car bomb attacks in a southern Turkish border town may have been related to the conflict in Syria or to Turkey's own peace process with Kurdish militants, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said.

    "Unfortunately we have 20 people who lost their lives and more than 46 people wounded in this blast," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

    "Another sensitive issue is that Hatay province (where the explosions occurred) is on the border with Syria, these actions may have been taken to provoke those sensitivities," he added.
    The latest attacks increased fears that Syria's civil war was dragging in neighbours and drawing a swift warning from Ankara not to test its resolve.
    Turkey supports the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was no coincidence the attacks in the town of Reyhanli came as diplomatic moves to end the conflict intensify.
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
    Another possibility, Erdogan cautioned, was that the attacks could be related to the Kurdish peace process.

    "We are going through sensitive times, we started a new era, the Kurdish issue solution process. Those who cannot digest this new era ... could take such actions," the Prime Minister said in comments broadcast on Turkish television.
    Kurdish militants began to withdraw from Turkey on Wednesday (May 8), pursuing a peace process meant to end a three-decade insurgency that has killed 40,000 people, ravaged the region's economy and tarnished the country's image abroad.
    The withdrawal, ordered late last month by top PKK commander Murat Karayilan, is the biggest step yet in a deal negotiated by the group's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan with Turkish officials to end almost 30 years of conflict.
    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government are the "usual suspects" behind car bombs that killed 40 people and wounded 100 more, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.
    Arinc also told reporters in comments broadcast live that Turkey must wait for the results of an investigation before deciding on any response.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register