- Title: TURKEY-KURDS/CIZRE CLASHES Turkey to lift week-long curfew in Cizre
- Date: 11th September 2015
- Summary: CIZRE, TURKEY (SEPTEMBER 11, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SMOKE RISING OVER TOWN VARIOUS OF MOSQUE WITH SMOKE RISING AND THE SOUND OF GUNSHOTS VARIOUS OF MILITARY HELICOPTER LANDING AT A BASE VARIOUS OF MILITARY VEHICLES DRIVING AROUND THE TOWN TWO AMBULANCES BEING ESCORTED BY A SPECIAL FORCES ARMED VEHICLE AS SHOTS ARE FIRED IN THE BACKGROUND EMPTY STREETS CHILDREN IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) UNIDENTIFIED CIZRE RESIDENT, SAYING: "My two sisters are now in Nur (a district of the town) and I can't get into contact with them. I don't know if they're dead or alive. Yesterday while we were carrying aid supplies, they [government forces] fired on us." RESIDENTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) UNIDENTIFIED CIZRE RESIDENT, SAYING: "The state and the PKK are fighting. What have the people done? They have to tell us how we are to blame." BARRICADE IN THE ROAD VARIOUS OF YPG (PEOPLE'S PROTECTION UNITS) FLAG
- Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA3WB2NTAO9MDJ3LU2J3IHI9UR5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Heavy gunfire and clashes were heard in the south-eastern Turkish town of Cizre on Friday (September 11) as the governor of Sirnak Province declared an end to a week-long curfew for Saturday (September 12).
Authorities imposed the curfew last week to combat Kurdish rebels, triggering criticism from the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP).
Cizre, near Turkey's borders with Syria and Iraq, has become a flashpoint in two months of deepening violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast. Hundreds have died since Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants and the state resumed hostilities after the collapse of ceasefire in July.
Local residents said it was a difficult situation.
"My two sisters are now in Nur (a district of the town) and I can't get into contact with them. I don't know if they're dead or alive. Yesterday while we were carrying aid supplies, they [government forces] fired on us," said one Cizre resident.
Another said they were being punished for something that had nothing to do with them.
"The state and the PKK are fighting. What have the people done? They have to tell us how we are to blame," he said.
On Thursday, Turkish police stopped pro-Kurdish politicians from marching to Cizre, where they said 21 civilians had been killed and a humanitarian crisis had unfolded since authorities imposed the curfew.
Turkish authorities said nearly all of those killed in the week-old curfew were Kurdish militants.
The unrest in Turkey's southeastern territories coincides with advances by jihadists, including Islamic State, across the border in Syria and Iraq. Turkey has launched air attacks against Islamic State targets in Syria and PKK bases in Iraq. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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