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Turkish opposition blames Erdogan for Turks killed in Iraq

Turkey's biggest opposition party has blamed the president for the deaths of 13 Turkish hostages in Iraqi Kurdistan over the weekend.
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu makes a press statement at his party's headquarters in Ankara, on September 16, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to blame for the deaths of 13 Turkish hostages that were being held by Kurdish militants in Iraqi Kurdistan. In a scathing address before the Turkish Parliament, Kemal Kilicdaroglu said he had five questions for Erdogan. One was, “What have you done for this nation’s sons who were being held since 2015 by the terrorist organization?”

Kilicdaroglu went on to lambast the president in his Feb. 16 speech for failing to enlist the help of civil society organizations that had previously mediated to free Turkish citizens being held by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). “Did it never occur to you to call on them?” he asked.

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