Brussels, 18/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 February, the European Union condemned the attack carried out against the military in Ankara during the evening of 17 February, which is reported to have left 28 people dead and many injured, and the attack on an army convoy in the south-east of the country during the morning of Thursday 18 February, which has claimed at least six lives.
In a joint statement published at the start of the European Council, the EU heads of state and government and the leaders of the EU institutions “strongly” condemned the terrorist attack in Ankara, and expressed their solidarity with the people of Turkey. “Acts of terrorism, by whomever and wherever they take place, are always unacceptable. The European Union and its member states will step up all efforts to counter this scourge, in cooperation with partners”, the EU leaders say in their statement.
A few hours earlier, upon arriving at the European Council, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini described these attacks as “completely unacceptable”.
The previous day, Mogherini and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn had described the Ankara attack as “terrible” in a press release, stating that the EU was with Turkey and its people “in these difficult times”. “We stand by all those who suffer from the consequences of such violence, and of terrorism”, they added.
“We will not give up the fight against terrorism”, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos tweeted after the first attack. The head of the EU Delegation to Turkey, Hansjörg Haber, “strongly” condemned this same attack, which he described as a “senseless act”. He added that “there is never any justification for terrorism”.
The leader of the European Parliament's EPP Group, Manfred Weber from Germany, was in Ankara at the time the attack was carried out and said that both attacks had not only targeted Turkey's stability but were also directed against Europe. “We must stay united and fight terrorism. We must take advantage of this momentum to create a real partnership and join our efforts to resolve the refugee crisis and the war in Syria, and to find a peaceful solution in the Middle East”, he added.
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was due to travel to Brussels on Thursday 18 February, cancelled his visit after the first attack (see other article).
Davutoglu accused a Kurdish militia (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of carrying out the attack in Ankara, which the Kurds immediately denied. The attack against the army convoy in the south-east of the country has also been attributed to the PKK by the Turkish authorities. Turkey, which is fighting against the PKK in the south-east of its territory, has also since last weekend been striking positions of Kurdish groups in Syria. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)