Turkish war

News in Brief

In October, Syrian Kurds plan to launch a constitution for northern Syria, according to Kurdish politician Hadiya Yousef, quoted by Reuters in early September. She said that the political developments would take place despite Turkey’s anti-Kurdish incursions into northern Syria that began on 24 August.

In early September, the continuing crackdown inside Turkey itself led to the dismissal of 24 Kurdish mayors in the southeast, and the suspension of 1,151 Kurdish teachers.

In a separate move, the government has arrested nearly 40,000 people suspected of links to the religious Gulenist movement since a coup attempt in July.

In mid-September, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on the government to revive the peace process, saying: ‘If the state is ready... we have a plan and this problem can be ended in six months.’

The message was relayed by his brother Mehmet, after a hunger strike by 50 Kurdish politicians and activists forced the government to allow the visit.

Topics: Turkey