Erdogan calls for new Turkey constitution

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday called for a new constitution that would give him greater powers, despite opposition fears it could lead to authoritarian rule.

Erdogan also vowed there would be no let-up in the military campaign against Kurdish rebels, one of the key security challenges for his new administration after a wave of tit-for-tat violence left a truce in tatters.

The strongman of Turkish politics for more than a decade, Erdogan has long been pushing for a new constitution to transform his post into a powerful US-style executive presidency.

 His remarks came as two more Turkish soldiers were killed in fighting with Kurdish rebels in a southeastern town near the Iraqi border, the army said.

"We have a clear opinion that the presidential system will help Turkey jump to another league," Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters in Ankara.