PKK using Europe as logistics base – Europol report
European police body says the terror group is using Europe as launchpad to procure weapons, recruit people and indoctrinate diaspora Kurds at scattered centres across the continent.
Demonstrators and supporters of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan protest in Paris, January 6, 2018.
The PKK is believed to be using Europe as a base for logistics and procurement of weapons and recruitment, the Europol said in a report on Wednesday.
According to the 2018 EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (or TE-SAT), there is a process of militant recruitment and luring to indoctrinate diaspora Kurds at scattered centres in Europe.
Regarding military combatants, the report said, "They are trained in combat techniques in military camps in Armenia, Iran, and Iraq."
PKK's illegal activities
The report accused the PKK of illegally generating income via drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, human trafficking, fuel and cigarette smuggling, extortion, kidnapping and money laundering.
Europol said the PKK "also uses front organisations and charities in the EU for this purpose and is suspected of being involved in criminal activities to supplement its income to cover expenses in Turkey, the Middle East, and Europe."
TRT World's Ahmet Alioglu has more.
PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU and has been waging an armed campaign against the Turkish state for more than three decades.
The fighting has left more than 40,000 dead, including civilians.
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