PM Erdoğan says Turkey ran out of ‘Ramadan patience' for PKK terror

In defiance and condemnation of the killing of seven soldiers by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in an ambush on Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey has run out patience for terror despite their respect for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.“We have run out of the patience that we showed during Ramadan. We are at a point where words fail,” Erdoğan said on Wednesday afternoon following an urgent meeting held by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) regarding the famine and drought that has been sweeping Somalia in İstanbul.
Responding to questions from reporters after the meeting, Erdoğan reiterated his earlier remarks against the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy (BDP), implicitly accusing the party of failing to distance itself from the PKK. “Those who fail to distance themselves from the PKK will also pay the price for that,” he said.
Asked whether Turkey is pondering a cross-border operation in Iraq against PKK bases in the Kandil Mountains, Erdoğan said, “From now on, nothing will be discussed but done.”
“We will not leave that region [the Southeast] and those people to the separatist terrorist organization,” Erdoğan added.
Erdoğan on Sunday lashed out at the PKK for killing Turkish soldiers even during Ramadan. “We are maintaining our patience because of our respect for Ramadan. But, everyone should know that the beginning of peace will be more different after this month of peace and solidarity,” Erdoğan said. Three days after Erdoğan's remarks, PKK terrorists killed seven soldiers in the Çukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari in an ambush.
However, President Abdullah Gül said on Monday that Turkey is not waiting for the end of Ramadan to take action against the PKK as counterterrorism efforts are under way and in full swing.