With the approach of local elections in Turkey, proclaimed a “matter of survival” by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the absence of one thing is striking: armed attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). According to the Turkish government, the calm stems from its efforts in the fight against terror, but others believe it is not a matter of the PKK's capacity, but a strategic choice on the organization's part.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu summarized Turkey’s fight against the PKK in 2018 in an assessment delivered to parliament in November: “We conducted 87,838 operations against the PKK and [killed] 1,289 terrorists. Our field operations over the past two years have gone up three times compared with earlier periods. With our field pressure, the PKK’s armed attacks — which reached 965 in 2017 — declined to 677 in 2018, while their [land]mine and improvised explosive device attacks were reduced to 148 from 250.”
