During the night, Ankara troops opened fire against an offensive by separatist Kurds, in the southeast area of the country on the border with Iraq. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the 20-year war between the government and the PKK, which is struggling for the independence of the Kurdish region.

Ankara (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Violent fighting overnight between the Turkish army and rebels of the PKK, the Kurdistan workers' party that is fighting for the independence of the region. According to official estimates, there are 15 dead among Ankara troops and 23 victims among the Kurdish rebels, while two soldiers are missing, possibly kidnapped by guerrillas. Last night's was one of the most violent attacks against the Turkish army by Kurdish separatists; the theater of the clash was the city of Semdinli - in the southeastern province of Hakkari - on the border between Turkey and Iraq.

In a press release, the spokesman of the Turkish army says that "soldiers opened fire in response to an attack during the night by PKK militants, killing some of them", without specifying the number of those killed. Turkey has repeatedly accused the separatists - who have been conducting a war for more than 20 years, to obtain the independence of the Kurdish region - of attacks and bombings in various cities of the country, responding to the violence with air raids against sensitive PKK positions.

Since 1984, there have been more than 40,000 victims in the conflict between separatists and the army; since the beginning of this year, Ankara troops have launched a series of incursions along the territory on the border with Iraq, to strike rebel positions. Last month, Turkish prime minister Erdogan asked parliament to postpone the expiration of a mandate - at the end of October - in order to carry forward a massive campaign of military operations against PKK bases in northern Iraq.

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• kurdish