"In 2015, 3,100 terrorists were neutralised in operations at home and abroad," he said referring to the military operations on PKK strongholds in south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. "Our security forces are flushing out the terrorists from every inch of the mountains and the towns and will continue to do so," he said. "Our fight.. will continue until the very end," added Erdogan.
It was not possible to independently verify the toll. Erdogan said another 200 members of the security forces had been killed, as well as an unspecified number of civilians. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also chaired a four-and-a-half hour meeting of top government and security figures that agreed to continue fighting the PKK "in the most comprehensive and decisive fashion," a statement said.
A new upsurge of violence between the security forces and Kurdish rebels erupted in July in the wake of attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, shattering a fragile two-and-a-half year truce. The authorities sent tanks into the south-east and also carried out bombing raids on PKK storage facilities and hideouts in south-east Turkey and northern Iraq. In the latest operations, curfews imposed on December 14 are still in place in the towns of Silopi and Cizre in Sirnak province which normally have populations of some 100,000. A partial curfew is also in force in the Sur district of the Diyarbakir region which was put in place on December 2.
In a repeat of scenes that have become familiar over the last days, police in Diyabarkir used tear gas and water cannon to prevent protesters from marching on the Sur district. In sub-zero temperatures, protesters were easily repelled by the freezing water from the water cannon, an AFP correspondent said.
Ankara says the extreme measures are needed to root out the PKK from urban areas where they had erected barricades and dug trenches. "We all know very well that those trenches are not only aimed at making it difficult to enter that area but also preventing Turkey from reaching its goals," said Erdogan. But opponents say the use of force has been excessive, with civilians killed, residential areas flattened and cultural heritage destroyed. According to the opposition pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), 56 civilians have been killed during curfews this month alone.