More than 10 killed in ISIL protests across Turkey as curfew declared in five provinces

At least 12 people were killed and many more were injured as the advance 
of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants on the Kurdish 
town of Kobane in northern Syria prompted fresh protests across Turkey 
on Oct. 7. A curfew has been declared in two Turkish provinces....


Hakan Buksur, 25, was killed by live ammunition as police hit protesters with bullets, tear gas and water cannon in the eastern province of Muş's Varto district, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. A second protester was also wounded during the incidents, reports have said.

Yusuf Çelik and Muhdi Erdoğan were killed during protests in Siirt's Kurtalan district, Gov. Mustafa Tutulmaz confirmed. Necmettin Çelik is heavily wounded, he said. 10 people were hospitalized in the attack that was allegedly perpetrated by village guards, a Kurdish paramilitary organization that fights against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

In Diyarbakır, suspected members of Hizbullah, a radical Islamist grouping known for aiding the state in the torture and murder of Kurdish activists in the 1990s, strafed a crowd of protesters, killing Mahmut Enez, 55, and Süleyman Kale, 19. A subsequent attack on an association on an association building belonging to Hizbullah killed three, identified as Turan Yavaş, Riyad Güneş and Hasan Gökgöz, according to the Fırat news agency.

In Mardin's Dargeçit district, members of the Free Cause Party (Hüda Par), which is closely linked to Hizbullah, allegedly opened fire on other protesters, killing Sinan Toprak and Bilal Gezer.

Elsewhere in Mardin, Kerem Karaaslan, 22, was shot dead in protests in the Kızıltepe district.

Hamdi Cener, 55, was meanwhile shot dead in Van by unknown perpetrators during protests in the eastern province.

A curfew was declared at 5 p.m. local time in the southeastern province of Mardin, whose districts of Kızıltepe, Nusaybin, Derik, Dargeçit, Mazıdağı and Savur are close to Turkey’s border with Syria. A curfew was declared in the Erciş district of Van, an eastern province, and also the Kurtulan district of Siirt, according to Doğan News Agency.

Later at 10 pm, Diyarbakır Governor's Office also declared a curfew across the southeastern province until a second notice, before the same move came from the Batman governor.

Schools will be closed in Diyarbakır for one day on Oct. 8.

Interior Minister Efkan Ala, who was accompanying President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanduring his visit to Gaziantep, said violence was not a solution. 

“Violence will be responded to,” Ala said. “This eclipse of reason should be ended immediately and streets should be emptied. Otherwise this issue will have unforeseen results.”  

“Those who are resorting to violence are engaging in treason,” he added. 

A masked group attacked a public bus parked in front of a gas station with molotov cocktails in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district. The group also attacked the station itself with a motolov cocktail, Doğan News Agency reported. 

A lawyer identified as Tamer Doğan was also rushed to hospital after being injured during a police crackdown on protesters in the Asian-side Istanbul district of Kadıköy. Police had earlier refused to allow a protest after dozens of people had gathered early Oct. 7 following the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) call for a demonstration in support of Kobane.  

Doğan tried to negotiate with the police before the intervention, a colleague of his told daily Radikal, adding that he was hit in the head by a tear gas canister as he was trying to step aside. His condition is not life threatening and is improving, Radikal reported.  Kadıköy has been one of the hot spots of protests in support of Kobane since last week.

Police also refused to permit a protest in the sensitive European district of Sultangazi, where 500 people had gathered early Oct. 7. A group of demonstrators had attempted to march to the local headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to protest against the government’s stance on Kobane, according to reports.

There was also tension in Istanbul’s Bağcılar district as plumes of smoke rose over the horizon amid reported battles between protesters and police. Protesters allegedly attempted to set fire to the local Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) building after shots were fired from it.

Police resorted to tear gas and water cannon during a protest in Ankara where several hundred people had gathered. 

Several protests have been staged in many other Turkish cities, including Ankara, Antakya, Antalya, Eskişehir, Denizli, Kocaeli, Diyarbakır, Siirt and Batman.

video : webtv.hurriyet.com.tr

Meanwhile, one of the two protesters injured during an attack against a group protesting ISIL late Oct. 6 in the southern province of Adana is in serious condition, Doğan News Agency has reported. Attackers who opened fire on protesters with live ammunition are still unidentified, reports said.

October/07/2014

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com