Kurdistan Observer

DIYARBAKIR, A lawyer with ties to Turkey's main Kurdish party was killed with a shot to the head, police said on Friday, while two members of the security forces died in a separate incident in the mainly-Kurdish southeast.

Recep Azizoglu, 55, was shot as he stepped into the lift in his apartment block late on Thursday in the Yenisehir region near the city of Diyarbakir. He died on his way to hospital, police said.

He was the uncle of Yenisehir mayor Remzi Azizoglu, a representative of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP), Turkey's main Kurdish party.

Police said they were still investigating and would not comment on whether the killing was political.

Separately, two members of the security forces were killed in the countryside near the town of Lice in southeast Turkey in an exchange of fire with men security sources said were Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels.

More than 30,000 people, the majority of them PKK rebels, have been killed since 1984 when the PKK first took up arms. While clashes have dropped off sharply since Turkey captured PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, isolated clashes still take place.

Security officials said up to 3,000 troops, backed by air power, were active in the hills around Lice tracking down the PKK group.

Turkey's parliament is debating reforms to end restrictions on Kurdish language expression and broadcasting, moves urged by the PKK but also needed if Turkey is to meet European Union criteria for human rights