NATO calls emergency meeting after Turkey's request

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NATO calls emergency meeting after Turkey's request
Council comprising diplomats from 28 NATO allies to meet amid Turkish security operations against Kurdish PKK and ISIL.

26 Jul 2015 19:46 GMT | War & Conflict, Middle East, Iraq, Syria, Turkey

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  "Turkey requested the meeting in view of the seriousness of the situation after the heinous terrorist attacks in recent days, and also to inform allies of the measures it is taking," NATO said.
  
  "NATO allies follow developments very closely and stand in solidarity with Turkey."
  
  In Article 4, members are encouraged to bring subjects to the table for discussion for political consultation.
  
  Since the alliance's creation in 1949, NATO has been invoked several times, such as by Turkey in 2003 and in 2012, and Poland in 2014.
  
  Patriot batteries
  
  Germany, the Netherlands and the US each sent two Patriot anti-missile batteries and soldiers to operate them at the start of 2013 after Turkey asked for NATO help in increasing border security due to the civil war in Syria.
  
  The article reads: "The parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened."
  
  It is less potent than Article 5, which recognises an attack against one or more members as an attack against all. Turkish F-16 fighter jets hit PKK targets in northern Iraq late on Sunday, Turkish security sources said.
  
  
  
  
  Inside Story: The Kurds' quest for a homeland
  
  
  The jets, which hit targets in Hakurk, scrambled from the airbase in Diyarbakir, the sources said.
  
  Earlier, Turkey's army blamed Kurdish fighters for a deadly car bombing that killed two of its soldiers in the country's Kurdish-dominated southeast on Saturday night.
  
  Four other troops were wounded in the attack, which occurred in Diyarbakir province.
  
  The military said PKK fighters also fired on the troops as part of what it called a "treacherously pre-planned" ambush.
  
  While the army blamed the PKK, no group has yet claimed responsibility for the explosion.
  
  The tensions in Turkey follow a suicide bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc earlier in the week that killed dozens of Kurdish activists. Turkish authorities blamed ISIL for that attack.
  
  Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish prime minister, has said the military operations would not have a time-frame, indicating a prolonged offensive.
  
  For its part, the PKK said the Turkish air strikes on its bases meant the government in Ankara had ended a fragile 2013 ceasefire between the two sides.
  
  The PKK has for decades waged an armed campaign in Turkey's southeast that claimed tens of thousands of lives.
  
  A peace process that began in 2013 has so far failed to yield a final deal.
  
  Merkel's appeal
  
  Earlier on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office said she had a phone conversation with Davutoglu, urging him to stick with the Kurdish peace process despite the recent escalating violence.
  
  Merkel assured Davutoglu of the "solidarity and support of Germany in the fight against terrorism" but also recalled "the principle of proportionality in the implementation of necessary measures", Georg Streiter, Merkel's spokesperson, said in a statement.
  
  
  
  
  Kurdish community angry with Turkish government
  The chancellor appealed to Davutoglu "not to give up the peace process with the Kurds but to continue it despite all the difficulties", the statement said.
  
  Some in the Turkish opposition say they are concerned the governing AK Party's aims with new attacks on the PKK to stir up anti-Kurdish sentiment before a possible early election later this year.
  
  The AK Party has until late August to find a junior coalition partner or face an early election.
  
  It lost its single-party majority for the first time in more than a decade in June, in large part due to the success of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which entered parliament for the first time.
  
  "One of the aims of the air, land and media operations carried out right now is to undermine the HDP in early elections," Selahattin Demirtas, the HDP head, said on Twitter.
  
  
  
  
  
• NATO calls emergency meeting after Turkey's request