|
Police, Demonstrators Clash in Southeast Turkey |
|
|
|
|
Written by VOA News
|
|
Sunday, 23 March 2008 |
|
Turkish security sources say at least 60 people were injured Saturday in clashes between riot police and Kurdish demonstrators in southeast Turkey. Police say at least 160 people were detained in the violence, which erupted in two cities after celebrations marking the Kurdish New Year, Nowroz, turned into protests supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.
In the city of Van, large groups of protesters hurled stones at police, who struck back with batons and volleys of tear gas to disperse a crowd of about three thousand people.
Clashes also took place in the city of Hakkari.
Officials report 38 demonstrators and 15 policemen were hurt during the clashes. Four people, including one police officer, were seriously wounded.
The PKK has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast for nearly 25 years, and violence during that time has killed more than 30 thousand people. Turkey, the United States and other nations have designated the PKK a terrorist group.
Kurdish activists sometimes use the Nowroz festival - a traditional new-year celebration that marks the arrival of spring - to highlight demands for autonomy and other rights.
|
©