Turkey lacks chemical weapons

In response to recent claims that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) used chemical weapons against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the General Staff announced yesterday that the TSK does not possess chemical weapons in its inventory, Today's Zaman reported.

"It has been seen that untrue, groundless, biased and slanderous reports emerged in local and foreign media organs that the TSK used chemical weapons in the fight against the terrorists. There are no chemical weapons in the TSK's inventory. The fight against the separatist terrorist organization is being carried out in compliance with national and international rules of law," a statement posted on the General Staff's website said on Friday.

The Turkish military recently stepped up operations against the PKK. News outlets close to the PKK have claimed that the TSK used chemical weapons during these operations, in particular in a major operation against PKK bases in the Kazan Valley near the Çukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari. A group of European Parliament members recently travelled to Kazan Valley to investigate whether chemical weapons had been used during the operation.


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