The Turkish prime minister has made a rare visit to the troubled, Kurdish-dominated southeast of the country, urging Kurds to condemn violence committed by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit was to show that the government is committed to solving the region's problems. He told a local party conference in the region's capital, Diyarbakir, on Sunday that "by uniting, we will close the door on terrorism and we will work as hard as we can to ensure that this country grows a little freer, more democratic, richer and happier every day".
His visit coincides with an upsurge in violence blamed on the outlawed PKK and troop reinforcements in the region to deal with a predicted increase in incursions by the thousands of rebels the government says are based over the border in Iraq. Only last week 17 people were injured in the bombing of a school bus carrying soldiers' children. In addition, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a group the authorities link to the PKK, has claimed responsibility for several bomb attacks on towns in the west of the country since the beginning of the year.