Suspected Kurdish rebels escape Turkish prison

Eighteen inmates detained for suspected links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) escaped from a prison in eastern Turkey, Wednesday, by digging a 230 foot-long tunnel, officials said.

The prison break outside the city of Bingol comes days before Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is due to unveil a package of reforms aimed at keeping on track a fragile peace process to end an almost 30-year insurgency by the Kurdish group.

The prisoners who escaped overnight were convicted or charged with belonging to the PKK, or aiding and abetting the group. They are believed to be hiding in a mountainous, wooded area of Bingol province, security officials said.

Four of the men were on trial and 14 were convicted, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin told reporters.

The PKK has been fighting for autonomy for the mainly Kurdish southeastern region of Turkey, in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people.

Among the group’s demands are changes to Turkey’s anti-terrorism law that would make it more difficult to jail non-combatants for ties to the group.

Turkey has recently entered into a fragile peace process with the PKK after months of clandestine negotiations between the group’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish secret service.

The Kurdish rebels agreed to disarm and withdraw from Turkey in exchange for reforms to enhance the rights of the estimated 15 million Kurds in the country. The group began retreating into Iraq in May, but announced this month that they would halt their pullout, accusing Ankara of failing to deliver on its promises.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and United States.

Al Jazeera and wire services