Kurdish umbrella group extends truce till after elections in Turkey

The top official of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella group for several Kurdish political parties including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Democratic Union Party (PYD), announced the extension of a unilateral truce that was declared on 10 February in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes on 6 February.

KCK co-chair Bese Hozat told Brussels based broadcaster Medya Haber that they will not be engaged in any armed action till after the May 14 elections in Turkey.

The Turkish military, who has been locked in armed conflict with the PKK in the past 40 years, launched its latest military campaign in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) in April to target Kurdish fighters.

Turkey also carries out airstrikes and large scale land offensives against the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Northern Syria and its de facto armed force Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who it accuses of being linked with the PKK.

Turkey's incursions in KRI and Syria have not ceased after KCK's declaration of a truce on 10 February.