750 youths ‘joined PKK’ in one year

Fevzi Kızılkoyun ANKARA / Hürriyet

Some 750 youths under the age of 18 joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) forces in one year, according to a fresh report by a police agency.

The report said the PKK’s high school and youth organizations, the urban arm and educational support branch, also known as EDEV, were used in accelerating the process of recruiting youths and taking them to the mountains for training.

The organization utilizes some spring festivals and cultural organizations to propagate and convince these young individuals to join the PKK, the police report said.

Along with the eastern and southeastern provinces, many youths from Istanbul, İzmir, Adana and Mersin have joined the PKK. These minors receive theoretical and military training at the PKK camp, the report added. Another report in April said the total number of the PKK was approximately 1,000. However, the militant groups stationed at bases near the border returned to cities within Turkey’s borders, rather than leaving the country.