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KurdistanObserver.com
Protestor Reported Killed As Tensions Simmer in Turkey's
Kurdish regions
ANKARA, Nov 16 (AFP) Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan called his justice and interior ministers to a crisis
meeting in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss the violence flaring in the country's
predominantly Kurdish southeast.
One person was killed and 15 injured in
the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday in
flaring violence between Kurdish protestors and the security forces, Anatolia
news agency reported.
The protestor died while on his way to hospital after sustaining serious
injuries during a demonstration in Hakkari city to condemn a deadly bomb attack
in a nearby town last week, widely blamed on members of the security forces,
Anatolia quoted unnamed officials as saying.
The death brings to five the number of people killed in almost daily riots
since the November 9 bombing of a bookstore in Semdinli owned by a former
Kurdish guerrilla.
Five policemen and 10 protestors were injured in the unrest, which saw the
security forces use tear gas and fire shots in the air to disperse the crowd,
Anatolia said.
Three people were killed in clashes in Yuksekova town, also in Hakkari
province, on Tuesday.
Shops in Yuksekova remained closed on Wednesday and armoured security
vehicles were deployed in front of official buildings, according to the NTV news
channel.
Another person was shot dead in riots that broke out after the bombing in
Semdinli, when an angry crowd almost lynched three people suspected of carrying
out the attack.
One of them, who allegedly hurled the bomb and was later arrested, turned out
to be a former Kurdish guerilla working as an informer for the gendarmerie, an
army unit policing rural areas.
The two others -- both gendarmerie officers -- were set free, while a third
soldier, accused of firing at the crowd, was also arrested.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged calm in the region, renewing a
pledge that those responsible for the bombing would be punished.
"No action outside law is acceptable," Erdogan said after a meeting of his
party leadership to discuss the incidents.
"We are aware how sensitive our citizens are on this issue and we are
determined to shed light on it," he said. "Our citizens should be patient until
the legal procedures are completed." |
