TURKEY-EXPLOSION/COMMEMORATION UPDATE Pro-Kurdish party says 128 people killed in Turkish bomb attack

Record ID: 134719

  • Title: TURKEY-EXPLOSION/COMMEMORATION UPDATE Pro-Kurdish party says 128 people killed in Turkish bomb attack
  • Date: 11th October 2015
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) POLICE BARRICADE AND VEHICLES IN DISTANCE DEMONSTRATORS, SOME HOLDING FLAGS IN SUPPORT OF 'SOCIALIST PARTY OF REFOUNDATION' DEMONSTRATORS STANDING IN STREETS, CHANTING (Turkish): "THIEF. KILLER. AKP!" (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) DEMONSTRATOR, ONDER ISLER, SAYING: "Yesterday in this area and at this time we were holding a meeting, our c
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA44FI3NWI3Y2BOBCGPBJ1Z5AK4
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas said on Sunday (October 11) that the twin bombings that hit in the Turkish capital Ankara during a peace rally on Saturday (October 10) killed 128 people.
    Demirtas, who has blamed the government in blunt terms for the incident, called on supporters to mourn the victims of the deadly blasts.
    "Up until now unfortunately we have lost 128 of our comrades, thousands of sisters and brothers wounded. Last night, with their families, we began to bid farewell to their souls into eternity. The funerals of our comrades must be met by hundreds of thousands of people, everywhere they are sent to," said Demirtas, positioned on top of a vehicle while addressing thousands of demonstrators who marched near the scene of the blast.
    Mourners, carrying posters bearing the portraits and names of those killed, marched through the streets cheered on by applauding crowds.
    A large crowd of people amassed near the scene of the bomb blasts, many chanting anti-government slogans and voicing anger over the most deadly attack of its kind on Turkish soil.
    "Yesterday in this area and at this time we were holding a meeting, our collective goal was basic standard of living and peace. They bombed it. The perpetrators of these attack are known to everyone. The ruling party dragged Turkey into such a civil war for their own interest, to remain in power in the (presidential) palace. We are facing a ruling party, the AKP party, that dares to push the country into a fire," said one protester, Onder Isler.
    "We are really in great pain, but we prefer to show our anger, we have amassed such anger. This (attack) is not the first and maybe not the last. As long as the AKP party continues to disseminate propaganda to start a war, people who are in favour of peace will continue to die. This situation must end. The regime of the palace must fall apart," added another marcher, Pelin Bektas.
    The government denies any suggestion of involvement.
    Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, exposing a mosaic of domestic political perils, said Islamic State, Kurdish militant factions or far-leftist radicals could have carried out the bombing.
    Some have suggested militant nationalists opposed to any accommodation with Kurds seeking greater minority rights could have been responsible. Turkish investigators worked on Sunday to identify the perpetrators and victims of the attack.
    HDP said on Sunday it had been able to identify all but eight of the bodies from Saturday's attack.
    The prime minister's office said late on Saturday that 95 people had died in the suspected suicide bombings. It said in a further statement on Sunday morning that 160 people were still being treated in hospitals, 65 of them in intensive care.
    Earlier in the day members of HDP, including Demirtas, laid down red carnations on the ground near Ankara's main train station where the twin suspected suicide blasts hit a rally of pro-Kurdish and labour activists, three weeks before an election, shocking a nation beset by conflict between the state and Kurdish militants.
    The crowd rallied in Sihhiye square, as riot police backed by water cannon vehicles blocked a main highway leading to the district where parliament and government buildings are located.
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