One man was killed and five officers were injured during clashes between Kurdish protesters and police in southeastern Turkish city of Batman Aug. 29. The violence flared after some 1,000 Kurds marched to demand the release of the bodies of six men accused of being Kurdish separatist guerillas killed in fighting with Turkish military last week. The fighting comes despite a unilateral ceasefire announced by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) 10 days ago.
Police told the protestors to disperse and fired warning shots, tear gas and water cannon. They claim the dead man had been hit by a stray bullet.
Turkish forces launched an operation against PKK militants in Batman Aug. 25, just a week after the PKK ordered its fighters to refrain from attacks for a month. (BBC [2], Aug. 29)
See our last post [3] on Kurdish unrest in Turkey.
