Turkish group in Germany attacked by PKK supporters

BERLIN

A Turkish association in central Berlin was attacked with Molotov cocktails early Thursday by sympathizers of the PKK terrorist organization.

The attackers threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the office of the Turkish Education Association and wrote slogans on the pavement in support of the PKK and the PYD, its Syrian affiliate.

Rustu Kam, the association's director, told Anadolu Agency that neighbors helped extinguish the fire and prevented it from spreading further.

He condemned the violence and expressed hope that the police would arrest the attackers soon.

PKK sympathizers have recently called for protests and demonstrations ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Germany next week.

The PKK and its offshoot organizations have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks against Turkish cultural associations and mosques in Germany this year, after Turkey launched counterterrorism operations against the group in northern Syria.

The PKK has been banned in Germany since 1993, but it remains active, with nearly 14,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population in the country.

Ankara has long accused Berlin of failing to take serious measures against the PKK and its Syrian branch the PYD, which use the country as a platform for their fund-raising, recruitment, and propaganda activities.

Germany has a 3 million-strong Turkish community, many of whom are second- and third-generation German-born citizens whose Turkish grandparents moved to the country during the 1960s.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.