( CNN ) Five militants from the Kurdistan Workers ' Party were killed and another was wounded in clashes with Turkish armed forces in eastern Turkey , the country 's military said Saturday . Four Turkish soldiers also were wounded in the fighting that took place in the eastern city of Agri , the armed forces said in a written statement . The Kurdish separatists opened fire from a long distance , targeting Turkish soldiers who were securing an area in Agri ahead of a spring festival , CNN Turk reported . Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu condemned the violence and said via Twitter that `` the appropriate answer to the heinous attack in Agri is being given by the Turkish armed forces . '' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also harshly condemned the attack , describing it as the Kurdish separatists ' attempt to `` intervene in the resolution process ( with the Kurds ) in our country . '' Last month , Abdullah Ocalan , longtime leader of the Kurdistan Workers ' Party ( PKK ) , called from his jail cell for the violence to end . In a historic letter , he urged fighters under his command to lay down their arms , stop their war against the Turkish state and join a `` congress '' to focus on the future . Since the first incidents more than three decades ago , an estimated 40,000 lives have been lost . The conflict has been , some say , a battle by activists among Turkey 's Kurdish minority for independence . It has been , others say , a guerrilla war by rebels who have punctuated their campaign with terrorist acts . About a fifth of Turkey 's population is Kurdish -- a minority long living under cultural oppression , most of them in the underdeveloped southeastern part of Turkey . From Turkish prison , Kurdish leader tells followers to lay down their arms .
Four Turkish troops were wounded in the flight , according to the country 's military . Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says clashes are attempt to halt a resolution process with Kurds . Violence between Kurds and the Turkish military has been ongoing for more than three decades ago .