UPDATES NUMBERS; ADDS DETAILS
By Orhan Onur Gemici
ANKARA (AA) – Five YPG/PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in southeastern Turkey, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
The terrorists surrendered at a border posts in Silopi district of Sirnak province and Hakkari, the ministry said in a statement.
One of those five terrorists, Mehmet Emin Alkan, had been kidnapped by the YPG/PKK terror group and his family has been attending an ongoing sit-in in southeastern Diyarbakir province.
The sit-in outside the office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) — an opposition political party accused by Turkey of having links to the YPG/PKK — entered Day 177.
Nine families, whose children were kidnapped by the terrorist group, have been reunited with their sons and daughters.
More than 40 terrorists have surrendered to Turkish forces since the beginning of 2020.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.
* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur
