Turkish army slams removal of flag by Diyarbakir rioters
Turkish Chief of Army Staff Office responded to the riots warning that the actions in Diyarbakir over the weekend has been testing their patience.
World Bulletin / News Desk
A group of rioters in Turkey's mainly Kurdish south-eastern city of Diyarbakir have lowered a Turkish flag from a Turkish military office building after sneaking into its premisis in the troubled Lice district.
The Lice district has been the site of a number of anti-government protests as of late and has been a hotspot for increasing tensions especially since PKK rebels kidnapped a group of minors during a Children's Day picnic in April.
The incident happened during the funeral of Ramazan Baran, who lost his life during riots in Lice on Saturday night. Masked men threw small explosives, fireworks and rocks at police, who in turn fired back with tear gas and water-cannon.
Soldiers were careful not to shoot the culprit, as he was just a child, but they did fire warning shots.
Meanwhile in the south-eastern city of Hakkari, teenage rioters threw molotof bombs at a gendarme headquarters. Police dispersed the rioters by firing into the air.
Despite a cease-fire being agreed between the Turkish government and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan last year, tensions in the region have been growing as of late, with rioters also attempting to block the Diyarbakir-Bingol road last week.
Lice particularly has been the location of a number of drug busts in the past year, with profits going to organizations like the PKK.
Condemning the removal of the flag, the Turkish Chief of Army Staff Office responded to the riots with a statement on Monday, warning that the actions in Diyarbakir over the weekend has been testing their patience.
The statement also slammed certain groups who were using women and children to carry out their riots for them.
Turkish army slams removal of flag by Diyarbakir rioters | General | Worldbulletin News
Security forces return fire coming from assailants among a group allegedly protesting the construction of a security post in Lice district of Diyarbakir province
World Bulletin/News Desk
Two protesters died and two people including a soldier were wounded during an illegal protest in the southeastern Turkish province of Diyarbakir on Saturday.
Security forces intervened in the demonstration held by a group that attempted to block the road between Diyarbakir and Bingol provinces, hurling hand-made grenades and stones at servicemen.
The group was allegedly protesting the construction of a security post in Lice district, according to an AA correspondent in the city.
Unidentified assailants among the group opened fire, which security forces returned. Abdulbaki Akdemir, 50, died at the scene, and Ramazan Baran, 24, was pronounced dead at Lice district hospital where he had been taken.
Abdullah Akkulu, who was wounded during the incident, is in intensive care following a surgery, medics told Anadolu Agency. "The operation was successful. He is conscious," Dr. Sait Alan said.
Intermittent clashes have continued since late May in Lice.
Separately, a group of militants on Sunday raided a stone pit and set six trucks and four construction vehicles on fire in the southeastern province of Bingol, an AA correspondent reported from the region.
Security forces launched an operation to find the assailiants. The trucks were reportedly carrying stones to a dam construction site.
In another development, members of the PKK blocked traffic on a road linking two districts in the eastern province of Mus. Bulanik District Governor Omer Sahin said security forces were dispatched to the area.
Diyarbakir governor’s office said in a statement last week that PKK’s militants and affiliate groups since May 24 had engaged in kidnappings, roadblocks and attacked security forces with home-made explosives and firebombs.
It said security forces detected 54 separate events two weeks ago.
On Saturday last week, a group of 50-60 men attempted to block the same Diyarbakir-Bingol road using heavy-duty vehicles that belonged to a local construction company.
The statement said the group acted "under the guise of public assembly," but produced long-range arms when confronted by security forces.
The governor's office said that the group tried to use civilians as human shields, shooting at servicemen in an attempt to force them to return fire.
The events come after the PKK reportedly kidnapped an unknown number of children on April 23, the national day for children, threatening to destabilize a delicate 'solution process' to end terrorism and address the issues of minorities, particularly those of the Kurdish minority which is by far the largest accounting for 18 percent of the population.
Families of some of the kidnapped children staged sit-ins in Diyarbakir where they were abducted, marking the first-ever public reaction to such kidnappings in the southeastern region. The protests received support from high-ranking government officials.
Two protester die in Turkey's southeast -UPDATED | Turkey | Worldbulletin News
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Kaan
Konulardan birinin başlığı değişmiş ve çok vahim bir hale gelmiş.
Turkey-Pkk conflict dendiği zaman resmi ve kanuni bir statüsü var izlenimi doğar.
Pkk yasa dışı bir terör ve insan-uyuşturucu kaçakçısı bir örgüt, eğer bunu gözardı edip bu üstteki başlık kullanılırsa birçok şeyi inkar etmiş ve ölmüşüz demektir.
Başlığı uygun bir şekilde lütfen değiştiriniz.
Good idea. I fixed the title.