Kurdish rebels declare ceasefire

BBC NEWS | Europe: "The statement called on the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to hold fire until 20 September. But the PKK said rebels would defend themselves if attacked. Last week Turkey's prime minister described the situation in the south-east as a political problem which needed settling through more democracy.

The PKK statement on Friday said the ceasefire call was a response to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's speech. "We will give time to Prime Minister Erdogan's well-intended efforts," said Zubeyir Aydar, head of the PKK's political wing Kongra-Gel. The PKK has been blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The rebels called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire last summer. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has been going on for more than two decades. The PKK has stepped up attacks in recent months. It was blamed for a bomb in the Aegean resort of Kusadasi last month that killed five people, recalling a PKK campaign against tourism in 1993. "