At least 95 people were killed when two suspected suicide bombers struck a rally of pro-Kurdish and labour activists outside Ankara’s main train station just weeks before elections, in the worst attack of its kind on Turkish soil.
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The government said Kurdish rebels or Islamic State militants were likely responsible, while mourners accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of fomenting violence to gain votes for the ruling party.
The PKK had accepted a ceasefire with Ankara in 2013, but the truce fell apart in the wake of a July 20 suicide bomb attack that killed 33 pro-Kurdish and left wing activists in the border town of Suruç in southeastern Şanlıurfa province. Police detained 14 suspected Islamic State members Sunday in the central Turkish city of Konya, but it wasn’t clear if they were related.
Turkey’s government rejected the declaration, saying the rebels must lay down arms for good and leave Turkey.
The HDP was among those calling for Saturday’s rally for “peace and democracy”.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for the victims of the massacre which killed dozens of people in Ankara, Turkey the day before.
“Canada stands ready to assist our ally during this hard time”, he said.
Thousands of people, many chanting anti-government slogans, have gathered at the site of the explosions today. Liberals and others who once supported Erdogan’s reforms now fear attack from elements of the state.
The HDP is a leftist, largely Kurdish party that emerged only in recent years.
The Syrian government also has an interest in destabilizing Turkey, which has made no secret of its desire to see President Bashar Assad ousted.
“We are confident that there is no single citizen who doesn’t share the deep sorrow for those who have lost their loved ones in these attacks”.
Turkey’s skies also are vulnerable.
Aside from the United Kingdom and Germany, other countries that have issued travel warnings for Turkey citing terrorism include the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Poland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands and Iran.
Turkey then joined the U.S.-led coalition carrying out strikes on the jihadists inside Syria, and was braced for potential blowback from the extremists.
Relations between Kurds and Turks are already tense.
In June’s national election, the HDP became the first pro-Kurdish party in Turkey’s history to pass the 10-per-cent threshold to enter parliament. In the aftermath of Abdurrahman Alagoz’s attack, Kurdish guerrilla group, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), killed two police officers.
In an emotional address at the Ankara rally, its leader, Selahattin Demirtas, said that rather than seeking revenge, people should aim to end Erdogan’s rule, starting with the November 1 legislative elections.
People at the site of the explosion.
Turkish investigators worked on Sunday to identify the perpetrators and victims of the attack. “Scum Launch attack in Ankara”, said the Haberturk newspaper.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the attack “confirms the need to consolidate the efforts of all regional and extraregional partners in combatting terror”.
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PKK shelters and gun positions were destroyed in the Metina and Zap areas of northern Iraq in Sunday’s air raids, a military statement said.
