Turkey vs. Kurds AP

Turkey, Kurd rebels gear up for return to all-out conflict

The Associated Press - By By DESMOND BUTLER - Associated Press

8 minutes ago

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  FILE - in this Wednesday, July 29, 2015 file photo, a missile-loaded Turkish Air Force warplane rises in the sky after taking off from Incirlik Air Base, in Adana, southern Turkey. The killing of two police officers by alleged Kurdish rebels prompted the Turkish government to retaliate against the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, with airstrikes to strongholds which stretch from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  In this Friday, July 31, 2015 photo, a shepherd leads his livestock in the outskirts of the town of Lice, in southeastern Turkey. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Desmond Butler)

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  FILE - In this Friday, July 31, 2015 file photo, a relative cries over the Turkish flag-draped coffin of slain police officer Isa Ipek, one of the two police officers, killed in an attack by Kurdish rebels overnight, in the the city of Adana, southern Turkey. The killing prompted the Turkish government to retaliate against the PKK with airstrikes. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. A truce that has helped bring social and economic stability to Turkey evaporated only a week into the government’s new offensive against the PKK, which stretches from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  FILE - In this Thursday, July 23, 2015 file photo, a Turkish police officer holds a picture of slain police officer Okan Acar, as officers carry his coffin and another officer's coffin, during a funeral procession in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey. The police officers were found shot dead in their home in the town of Ceylanpinar, located near Turkey’s border with Syria, in an attack that was attributed to Kurdish rebels by the authorities. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  FILE - In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 file photo, a man tries to comfort a mourner crying during a funeral in Istanbul, for three of the victims of an explosion in the town of Suruc, southeastern Turkey. Turkish authorities said the attack appeared to be an Islamic State-inspired suicide bombing but many Turkish Kurds accused the government of responsibility for the explosion. Following the attack and in an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file)

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  FILE - In this Sunday, July 26, 2015 file photo, protesters chant slogans as some hold placards that read in Turkish: 'Peace', during a pro-peace rally in Istanbul following the latest round of violence between Turkey and Kurdish rebels. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  In this Friday, July 31, 2015 photo, Metin Bekiroglu, right, accompanied by others talk about the recent round of violence between Turkey and Kurdish rebels, at a teahouse in the town of Lice, in southeastern Turkey. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Desmond Butler)

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  FILE - in this Wednesday, July 29, 2015 file photo, a missile-loaded Turkish Air Force warplane rises in the sky after taking off from Incirlik Air Base, in Adana, southern Turkey. The killing of two police officers by alleged Kurdish rebels prompted the Turkish government to retaliate against the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, with airstrikes to strongholds which stretch from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  In this Friday, July 31, 2015 photo, a shepherd leads his livestock in the outskirts of the town of Lice, in southeastern Turkey. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Desmond Butler)

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  FILE - In this Friday, July 31, 2015 file photo, a relative cries over the Turkish flag-draped coffin of slain police officer Isa Ipek, one of the two police officers, killed in an attack by Kurdish rebels overnight, in the the city of Adana, southern Turkey. The killing prompted the Turkish government to retaliate against the PKK with airstrikes. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. A truce that has helped bring social and economic stability to Turkey evaporated only a week into the government’s new offensive against the PKK, which stretches from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  FILE - In this Thursday, July 23, 2015 file photo, a Turkish police officer holds a picture of slain police officer Okan Acar, as officers carry his coffin and another officer's coffin, during a funeral procession in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey. The police officers were found shot dead in their home in the town of Ceylanpinar, located near Turkey’s border with Syria, in an attack that was attributed to Kurdish rebels by the authorities. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  FILE - In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 file photo, a man tries to comfort a mourner crying during a funeral in Istanbul, for three of the victims of an explosion in the town of Suruc, southeastern Turkey. Turkish authorities said the attack appeared to be an Islamic State-inspired suicide bombing but many Turkish Kurds accused the government of responsibility for the explosion. Following the attack and in an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file)

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  FILE - In this Sunday, July 26, 2015 file photo, protesters chant slogans as some hold placards that read in Turkish: 'Peace', during a pro-peace rally in Istanbul following the latest round of violence between Turkey and Kurdish rebels. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  In this Friday, July 31, 2015 photo, Metin Bekiroglu, right, accompanied by others talk about the recent round of violence between Turkey and Kurdish rebels, at a teahouse in the town of Lice, in southeastern Turkey. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Desmond Butler)

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• 
  FILE - in this Wednesday, July 29, 2015 file photo, a missile-loaded Turkish Air Force warplane rises in the sky after taking off from Incirlik Air Base, in Adana, southern Turkey. The killing of two police officers by alleged Kurdish rebels prompted the Turkish government to retaliate against the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, with airstrikes to strongholds which stretch from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  In this Friday, July 31, 2015 photo, a shepherd leads his livestock in the outskirts of the town of Lice, in southeastern Turkey. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Desmond Butler)

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  FILE - In this Friday, July 31, 2015 file photo, a relative cries over the Turkish flag-draped coffin of slain police officer Isa Ipek, one of the two police officers, killed in an attack by Kurdish rebels overnight, in the the city of Adana, southern Turkey. The killing prompted the Turkish government to retaliate against the PKK with airstrikes. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. A truce that has helped bring social and economic stability to Turkey evaporated only a week into the government’s new offensive against the PKK, which stretches from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  FILE - In this Thursday, July 23, 2015 file photo, a Turkish police officer holds a picture of slain police officer Okan Acar, as officers carry his coffin and another officer's coffin, during a funeral procession in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey. The police officers were found shot dead in their home in the town of Ceylanpinar, located near Turkey’s border with Syria, in an attack that was attributed to Kurdish rebels by the authorities. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  FILE - In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 file photo, a man tries to comfort a mourner crying during a funeral in Istanbul, for three of the victims of an explosion in the town of Suruc, southeastern Turkey. Turkish authorities said the attack appeared to be an Islamic State-inspired suicide bombing but many Turkish Kurds accused the government of responsibility for the explosion. Following the attack and in an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file)

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  FILE - In this Sunday, July 26, 2015 file photo, protesters chant slogans as some hold placards that read in Turkish: 'Peace', during a pro-peace rally in Istanbul following the latest round of violence between Turkey and Kurdish rebels. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file)

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  In this Friday, July 31, 2015 photo, Metin Bekiroglu, right, accompanied by others talk about the recent round of violence between Turkey and Kurdish rebels, at a teahouse in the town of Lice, in southeastern Turkey. In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. (AP Photo/Desmond Butler)

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LICE, Turkey (AP) — The military helicopters swooped in over the Kurdish heartland and dropped white incendiary powder on a raging brush fire — igniting a massive conflagration that raced through the mountains, devouring orchards and livestock. For Kurds living in nearby Lice, the recent Turkish operation brought back memories of the traumatic days in the 1990s when the army twice burned the town to the ground.

The military may have been trying to smoke out Kurdish militants, who had allegedly set off a car bomb near Lice killing a soldier and wounding four more. But locals in Lice, where the rebels have widespread support, see a more sinister motive: "Just like the old days," said local journalist Metin Bekiroglu, "they want to spread fear."

In an abrupt reversal, Turkey and the Kurdish rebels appear to be hurtling toward the return of an all-out conflict that plagued the nation for decades, before a fragile peace process was launched in 2012. A truce that has helped bring social and economic stability to Turkey evaporated only one week into the government's new offensive against the militant Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which stretches from southeastern Turkey to northern Iraq. Old habits of militancy, killing and retaliation are returning to a region that until recently harbored hopes of joining mainstream Turkish life.

Forest firebombing is not the only provocative method Turkey is using to put pressure on the Kurds. In nearby Diyarbakir, the spiritual capital of Turkish Kurds, fighter jets are taking off for dozens of sorties to hit PKK strongholds in northern Iraq. The planes screech over the city as if to send a threat of destruction. Many Diyarbakir residents have relatives in the mountains among the Kurdish targets.

2015 The Associated Press

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