Erdogan's Policy Against Kurds Deepens Refugee Crisis

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Turkish government's policy against Kurds aggravates the ongoing refugee crisis, Feleknas Uca, a Turkish parliamentarian and deputy for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, told reporters.

"Turkey is currently facing a difficult situation. Erdogan and his government have blocked all solutions to the Kurdish issue in Turkey and they do not want to make a compromise and settle the issue peacefully. If this situation continues it may even spill over Turkish borders and spread further. The refugee issue arises sharply and Turkey pay Europe for their acceptance [of Kurds]," Feleknas Uca said.

Tensions in Turkey escalated in July 2015, after two Turkish policemen were murdered by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which led to Ankara launching a military campaign against the group. The Kurds, Turkey's largest ethnic minority, have long sought to create their own independent state. The PKK was founded in the late 1970s to promote self-determination for the Kurdish community.

In December 2015, the Turkish authorities declared a curfew in a number of southeastern regions where armed clashes between Ankara forces and PKK fighters continue. The Turkish General Staff has said that about 850 Kurdish militants have been killed since mid-December. Kurdish activists, in turn, argue that most of the dead were civilian victims.

Thousands of Kurds have left their homes in Turkish Kurdistan to avoid the violence.