PKK turns farm-house into a hospital in southeastern Turkey


Turkish security forces have carried out a raid on a farm-house located in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa which has reportedly been turned into a hospital by outlawed PKK forces, according to a report from the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.

The hospital has been reportedly used to accommodate the senior officials of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who have been injured during their fight against militants of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in the besieged Kurdish town of Kobani. The PKK senior officials had been brought to Turkey via illegal routes.

The Turkish security units detained nine people, two of whom are women. The women were reportedly working as nurses at the converted-to-hospital place, while some of the others detained were PKK militants getting treatment for injuries.

During their operation, Turkish units reportedly also seized medical equipment as well as weapons and ammunition.

Turkey launched what is publicly known as "the reconciliation process" in 2009 to end more than three decades of fighting with the PKK, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The PKK announced a cease-fire on March 21, 2013 following a call from their imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan's, which has accelerated negotiations between the Turkish government and the group.