ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Civilians in Sur, a troubled district in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in Turkey’s southeast, have been fleeing their homes since Friday, fearing another curfew and renewed clashes between security forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported on its website that residents had been fleeing in large numbers, taking whatever possessions they could carry.
The Turkish army declared a curfew in several neighborhoods of the Kurdish district on December 3. That followed the resumption of fighting with the PKK and the murder of a prominent Kurdish lawyer, Tahir Elci, in Diyarbakir city in early December.
“We were not able to go outside because of the intense clashes. We ran low on water and food and our homes were damaged,” the Dogan News Agency quoted one Sur resident as saying.
Homes, mosques and civilian properties have reportedly been damaged in the intense clashes.
Mehmduh Tura, a junior governor in Sur, had justified the reason for the curfew to “ensure the security of life and property of our citizens," according to Turkish news agencies.
Following the curfew, the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) expressed outrage, saying it was "worried about loss of lives."
“After the curfew declared in Sur, the district has been blockaded by security forces and afterwards clashes have begun. We want to note that we are worried about loss of lives following the curfew," the HDP had said in a statement.
Clashes and curfews have been the order of the day in parts of Turkey, ever since the government declared a war on terrorism in late July. But instead of smashing jihadi groups that have been operating with impunity from Turkey, the military began an intense and deadly campaign against the PKK.
The renewed fighting with the PKK shattered a peace process that had been two years in the making and was meant to settle a three-decade conflict that has claimed 40,000 lives.
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