Clashes between Turkey, Kurdish militants concern EU

The European Union (EU) Tuesday expressed deep concern about the clashes between Turkey and Kurdish militants, calling Ankara to be "proportionate" in its response so as not to endanger the democratic political dialogue in the country.

The EU said Ankara had a right to defend itself against attacks staged by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq.

But EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn told Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozkir that the Turkish response "must be proportionate, targeted and by no means endanger the democratic political dialog."

The commissioner expressed concerns about recent developments which have a negative impact on the Kurdish-Turkish settlement process, it said in a statement.

"We count on Turkey to live up to its important and strategic role for the whole region, by refraining from any action that could further destabilise the region," Hahn was quoted in the statement.

Meanwhile, the 28-member bloc said it has acknowledged the commitment of the Turkish authorities to stepping up the fight against ISIL and re-affirmed the EU's strong support for these efforts.

The commissioner confirmed that the EU is looking into ways to further increase its support for the unprecedented humanitarian help offered by Turkey to the Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

The commissioner also spoke to the co-head of Turkey's main Kurdish political movement, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), telling Selahattin Demirtas on Friday that "all parties should re-commit to the peace process and work now on a broad and inclusive political solution. The ceasefire should be re-instated for the benefit of all Turkish citizens."

Turkish Air Forces bombed the PKK targets in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday and injured a girl.

The incident came amidst escalating tensions between PKK and Turkish troops and policemen after a tumultuous week that began with an Islamic State (IS) suicide bomb which killed 32 and injured 104 activists in the Turkey-Syria border area on July 20.

The PKK, which has so far claimed the lives of over 40,000 individuals, is firmly recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.