May 24, 1993 PKK ambush

The May 24, 1993 PKK ambush was a PKK ambush on Turkish soldiers that was carried out against unarmed Turkish military recruits on the Elazığ-Bingöl highway, executing 33 off-duty Turkish soldiers and 5 civilians, thus breaking the first ever Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) cease-fire with the Turkish government.[1][4] Turkish authorities claimed that according to Abdullah Öcalan's testimony in 1999, it was carried out by a regional PKK commander.;[5].

May 24, 1993 PKK ambush
Part of Kurdish–Turkish conflict

Locations of Elazığ and Bingöl Turkey
DateMay 24, 1993
Location
Elazığ-Bingöl highway
Result Ambush successful; end of first cease-fire
Belligerents
 Turkey Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Commanders and leaders
Şemdin Sakık
Strength
55 unarmed recruits[1][2] 150 militants[3]
Casualties and losses
33 recruits and 5 civilians killed[1]
22 recruits captured[2]		 None[1]

Despite many Turkish authority claims, the PKK has never taken responsibility.[6]

Background
Attack place

In late 1991, Turkish President Turgut Özal attempted to establish dialogue with the PKK. He had said the idea of a federation could be discussed and a Kurdish language TV channel could be opened.[7] He also passed a bill, partially unbanning the use of the Kurdish language.[8] In response the PKK declared a cease-fire on March 20, 1993.[9] On April 17, 1993 Turgut Özal died under suspicious circumstances.[10]

The attack

Turkish authorities claimed that PKK commander Şemdin Sakık had responded to the previous state's decision with a show of force and ordered PKK units in Diyarbakır to close down all main highways in the province and nearby on May 24. One of these roads was the Elazığ-Bingöl highway[11] which was allegedly attacked by over 150 PKK militants,[3] coming from the South-Eastern mountains.[1] PKK followed orders and stopped several buses that were transferring unarmed Turkish soldiers in civilian clothing and then dragged[3] 33 soldiers and 5 civilians[1] (including four teachers)[11] from their vehicles and executed them.[3] Some 22 soldiers were briefly captured by the PKK, before being freed by Turkish rescue operations.[2] The military was criticized for the fact that the soldiers were unarmed and there were no units protecting them.[7]

Aftermath

The attack broke the PKK's cease-fire with the Turkish government[7] and in response to this, the Turkish military intensified its anti-insurgency operations against the PKK during the following months.[1] A total of 92 Turkish security forces, 203 Kurdish rebels and 29 civilians were killed during anti-insurgency operations in May and June, an additional 120 Kurds were arrested during these operations.[2]

Turkish claimed that Kucuk Zeki, the PKK's commander in Muş at the time, described the attack as a turning point in the conflict, as the state stepped up its operations against the PKK and "the war got much worse".[11]

References
  1. "Turkey - Atlapedia® Online". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  2. Kurds in Turkey (page 11) Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "1993 Human Rights Report: TURKEY". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  4. PKK has repeatedly asked for a ceasefire of peace since their establishment in the past 17 years Archived 2011-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Timeline Kurdistan". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  6. "The European court of Human rights judgement" (PDF). ETCHR. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  7. "TURKEY - History of PKK in Turkey". Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  8. Kurdish Language Policy in Turkey Archived 2012-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Phillips, David L. (2017-07-05). The Kurdish Spring: A New Map of the Middle East. Routledge. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-351-48037-6.
  10. "Remains of Turgut Özal reinterred - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  11. Page 214 Archived 2014-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
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