Turkish Army, Kurdish Militants Clash in Southeast

Four Turkish troops were wounded Saturday in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in a blow to the peace process seeking to end decades of separatist violence.

The army sent armed helicopters, reconnaissance jets and a commando unit to the Agri region in southeastern Turkey where clashes were continuing, the Turkish military said in a statement on its website.

Troops had been despatched to the district of Diaydin after receiving intelligence of a planned "festival" to promote the "separatist terror organisation", the army said, using the official shorthand for the PKK.

PKK militants opened fire on the Turkish military and the army responded, it said.

"But in the initial fire four of our soldiers were wounded in different places. 

"Reconnaissance aircraft, armed helicopters and a commando unit have been despatched to the area. 

"The clashes are continuing," the army added.

The unrest marks a rare spike in violence as the government seeks to make peace with the PKK after a decades-long conflict that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

Selahattin Demirtas, the leader of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) that acts as an intermediary between the government and PKK, called the clashes "a sad and worrying development."

"A detailed investigation is needed to find out exactly what happened," he said in televised comments.

The government's pointman on the peace process, Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan, said he strongly condemned the "terrorist attacks".

"The will of the people cannot be put at stake for a mix of political pressure and violence. Opening fire will backfire on itself," he wrote on Twitter.

The PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan this year called on militants to take steps to lay down their arms in what many see as a historic breakthrough in the peace process.

The PKK initially fought for independence for Turkey's Kurds but later softened its demands to seek greater rights and autonomy.

However there have been signs the peace process has been stumbling in recent months as Turkey's political forces prepare for legislative elections on June 7.

In a tight battle, the HDP is seeking to win over 10 percent of the vote to qualify for direct representation in parliament.

Should it succeed, this could wreck the plans of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to win a constitutional majority to change the basic law and create a presidential system under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.