Turks Kill 9 Rebels in Kurdish Uprising

Turkish soldiers killed nine rebels in the predominantly Kurdish southeast, authorities said Saturday, as the military stepped up operations against the guerrillas.

The rebels, seven men and two women, were killed late Friday in Tunceli province, local officials said. Automatic weapons, plastic explosives, grenades and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher were seized in the operation, authorities said. A Syrian citizen was said to be among those killed.

The CNN-Turk news channel said about 10,000 Turkish soldiers were involved in the operation against the rebels. NTV, a Turkish television channel, showed footage of military trucks, tanks and helicopters.

Turkey’s 5,000 Kurdish rebels called off their fight after their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was captured in 1999. He renounced armed struggle and withdrew demands for Kurdish statehood, saying Turkey’s 14 million Kurds would settle for cultural autonomy.

But clashes between Turkish military and rebel forces have resumed since Ocalan’s party ended its unilateral cease-fire last year.

On Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ocalan did not receive a fair trial. That verdict may have boosted morale among the rebels and may give them new momentum.

Leaders in Ankara, the capital, had said they would respect the court’s decision. But Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said Saturday that authorities were still evaluating the ruling.

A retrial is expected to be very unpopular among Turks, many of whom blame the separatists for the deaths of 37,000 people in a 15-year war.