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14 lose lives in Turkey as protests rage over Kobani
(MENAFN- Arab News) DIYARBAKIR: At least 14 people were killed as pro-Kurdish protests raged across Turkey Wednesday over the government's failure to act against militants attacking the majority-Kurdish Syrian border city of Kobani.
The disturbances are the worst outbreak of such violence in years and risk derailing Turkey's peace process with the Kurds.
In a move unprecedented since the deadliest days of the Kurdish insurgency in the 1990s the army was deployed to impose a curfew in several cities in the east.
The violence was concentrated in the mainly Kurdish southeast but also flared in Istanbul Ankara and other cities with empty buses firebombed and protesters hurling stones at police.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has so far not intervened militarily against Islamic State (IS) militants trying to take Kobani to the fury of Turkey's Kurds.
Eight of the deaths came in Turkey's main Kurdish city of Diyarbakir where the most intense rioting took place overnight Wednesday a local security official told AFP.
Five of these deaths were blamed on clashes between Kurdish activists and supporters of hardliner groups in the southeast who are sympathetic to IS.
The clashes caused extensive damage in the city with shop fronts burned-out and buses set on fire.
Two people were reported killed in Mardin two in Siirt and one in Batman and another in Mus all cities in the southeast of Turkey with large populations of Kurds. Further protests were planned for Wednesday.
The Turkish Army has been deployed on the streets of the cities of Diyarbakir Mardin and Van to enforce a curfew.
In Diyarbakir Turkish troops and tanks were patrolling the city of 1.5 million people with the streets deserted after the night of violence an AFP correspondent reported.
The world's largest stateless people Kurds are spread across Turkey Iraq Iran and Syria. Kurdish militants have waged a deadly insurgency for three decades for self rule in Turkey.
However a peace process with the Turkish government appeared to be making progress until the Kobani standoff and the latest protests threaten to derail the talks entirely.
The disturbances are the worst outbreak of such violence in years and risk derailing Turkey's peace process with the Kurds.
In a move unprecedented since the deadliest days of the Kurdish insurgency in the 1990s the army was deployed to impose a curfew in several cities in the east.
The violence was concentrated in the mainly Kurdish southeast but also flared in Istanbul Ankara and other cities with empty buses firebombed and protesters hurling stones at police.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has so far not intervened militarily against Islamic State (IS) militants trying to take Kobani to the fury of Turkey's Kurds.
Eight of the deaths came in Turkey's main Kurdish city of Diyarbakir where the most intense rioting took place overnight Wednesday a local security official told AFP.
Five of these deaths were blamed on clashes between Kurdish activists and supporters of hardliner groups in the southeast who are sympathetic to IS.
The clashes caused extensive damage in the city with shop fronts burned-out and buses set on fire.
Two people were reported killed in Mardin two in Siirt and one in Batman and another in Mus all cities in the southeast of Turkey with large populations of Kurds. Further protests were planned for Wednesday.
The Turkish Army has been deployed on the streets of the cities of Diyarbakir Mardin and Van to enforce a curfew.
In Diyarbakir Turkish troops and tanks were patrolling the city of 1.5 million people with the streets deserted after the night of violence an AFP correspondent reported.
The world's largest stateless people Kurds are spread across Turkey Iraq Iran and Syria. Kurdish militants have waged a deadly insurgency for three decades for self rule in Turkey.
However a peace process with the Turkish government appeared to be making progress until the Kobani standoff and the latest protests threaten to derail the talks entirely.
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