The Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the Syrian Kurds’ PYG group leader on charges of a terrorist attack in Ankara, Anadolu news agency reported. Salih Muslim, the co-chairman of the Kurdistan Democratic Union Party (PYD), was accused of a deadly car bombing in Ankara in February.
Ankara has long criticized the EU for being hypocritical on its stance on the PKK, arguing that the EU politicians rhetorical support to Turkey against PKK do not align with their practice and measures against the terror group. President Erdoğan said on Monday that the EU should take into consideration the warnings given by Turkey to terror groups, as it has a long experience of dealing with them, or sooner or later the EU will also fall victim and become targets of the terror groups.
Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK group collapsed over a series of terrorist attacks, allegedly committed by PKK members. Ankara considers PYD an affiliate of PKK, which is outlawed in Turkey.
The deadly Feb.17 blast took place during evening rush hour, near both the Turkish General Staff and parliament buildings in the Turkish capital. The attack killed 29 people, and 15 suspects were later arrested in connection with the attack.
