Ankara: A news agency says Kurdish rebels have extended by a week a unilateral ceasefire that they declared for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The suspension of attacks, declared on August 13, would have expired on Monday. But the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency quotes the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, as saying the group will assess the situation in Turkey before deciding next week whether to extend its cease-fire.
Turkey has ignored all PKK ceasefire declarations in the past and violence has continued. Nine people were killed in a roadside bomb attack on a minibus in southeastern Turkey last week. The government blamed the
PKK but the rebels denied responsibility.
The PKK has been fighting for autonomy since 1984.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, September 20, 2010, 16:19