Turkey: Police reportedly arrest 44 people on terrorist charges July 13

Event

Turkish authorities reportedly arrested 44 people on terrorist charges on Thursday, July 13, including one who 44 people are being detained by Turkish police on accounts of terrorism, one of which is accused of involvement in a twin bombing near a football stadium and another car bomb attack in 2016. These two attacks are said to have been carried out by militants from the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, a breakaway group of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Context

The PKK was formed in the late 1970s and launched an armed struggle against the Turkish government in 1984, calling for an independent Kurdish state within Turkey. Since then, more than 40,000 people have died during the conflict with the Turkish government, which reached a peak in the mid-1990s. Although a ceasefire was established in March 2013, it fell apart in July 2015 when Ankara launched air strikes against PKK camps in northern Iraq. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States. The Turkish government regularly carries out raids and airstrikes against suspected PKK militants and bases.

Meanwhile, the general security situation has deteriorated in Turkey amid a complex regional and domestic geopolitical context. It has suffered numerous terrorist attacks, many linked to the neighboring conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and is now home to over 2.7 million Syrian refugees. Moreover, the country is still recuperating from a failed attempt at a military coup in July 2016, which led to the implementation of a state of emergency, still in effect. Critics of the ongoing state of emergency claim that it has been used as a pretext to quash opposition and limit civil liberties. 

Advice

Travelers are advised to remain vigilant and to avoid discussing sensitive political topics in public.

Due to the Turkish government's ongoing conflicts with the PKK as well as the Islamic State (IS), most Western governments advise against all travel to the city of Diyarbakır and areas along the Syrian and Iraqi borders, as well as nonessential travel to the provinces of Şırnak, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, Kilis, Hatay, Siirt, Tunceli, and Hakkâri. The threat of terrorism remains present throughout Turkey, remain vigilant, report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities, and all potential protests.