On March 13, a bomb explosion killed 37 people in the Turkish capital, Ankara. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is using the attack to justify its ongoing war against the country's Kurdish minority and its crack down on political opposition and dissent, the judiciary and media that is not pro-government. The left-wing Kurdish-led Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) has been targetted by this government violence that has been carried out in the name of fighting terrorism.
However, the HDP itself has itself been a target of terror attacks: most notably the October 10 suicide bombing of a rally in Ankara on October 10, attributed to ISIS, which killed over 100 HDP supporters. The October 10 attack was three weeks before elections and coincided with violence against the HDP by state forces and government supporters.
On March 13, the HDP released the following statement in response to the latest attack:
“We condemn today's bombing in Ankara. Unfortunately, many lost their lives or injured as the attack targeted our fellow civilian citizens.
“We share this great pain with all our people. We express our condolences for the victims and wish quick recovery for the wounded.
“We assert that all this pain brought on our people will not deter us from brotherly feelings, and once again we strongly condemn the attack.”
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