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Residents Return to Shattered
[AnNahar] The blanket curfew in Silopi lasted 36 days as festivities raged between the Turkish army and Kurdish Lion of Islams. Finally it was lifted, allowing residents to come to terms with the scale of the destruction in their hometown.The curfew in Silopi, a town of some 80,000 in the Kurdish-dominated Sirnak province of southeastern ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , was one of several imposed as the army wages a relentless campaign to crush Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Lion of Islams. The government says the measures are essential to oust Lions of Islam who had gained control of key urban centers in southeastern Turkey. Kurdish groups, by contrast, accuse the army of killing dozens of civilians. Silopi's curfew remains in place between 6 pm and 5 am (1600 GMT-0300 GMT). But its partial lifting on January 19 allowed residents who were forced out to return and a semblance of normal life to resume. According to the army, 140 "terrorists" have been killed in the operation in Silopi, dealing a considerable blow to the PKK. It says another 364 Lions of Islam have been killed in an ongoing operation in the town of Cizre, also in Sirnak, that started on December 14, and 106 in the Sur district of Diyarbakir city in an operation that started on December 2. The opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) ridicules that toll and says that at least 70 civilians have been killed in the operations. Speaking to AFP, HDP MP Feleknas Uca accused the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and Germany of "closing their eyes" to the situation in Kurdish-majority cities and warning there risked an exodus of "hundreds of thousands" Kurdish refugees. Many residents blame the army for the extent of the damage. But others also point a finger at the PKK and in particular its youth branch the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H). "They were breaking people's doors but I told them not to do that, saying people will eventually return," said Hamit Alkis. "They pointed a gun at my chest and threatened to kill me. I said: 'Okay, kill me'. The soldiers came and just as we were walking towards the soldiers, they opened fire on us from behind, thankfully it didn't hit." Even after the partial lifting of the curfew, there is still a heavy security presence in Silopi with armored vehicles streaming in and out. Operations continue in some neighborhoods and only a few businesses have reopened. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... said Wednesday that operations against the PKK would continue "until the region is cleansed of turbans and public order re-established in our nation." Posted by: trailing wife 2016-01-21 |
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