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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Turkish Kurds riot after bombing |
| 2005-11-11 |
| There has been a third day of violent protests in the south-east of Turkey close to the border with Iraq. Locals accuse state security officers of planting a bomb in a bookstore which killed one person on Wednesday. Another man died in the clashes that followed. The government has promised a full investigation as local media suggest gendarmerie intelligence officers may have been acting outside the law. The media say the bomb may have been aimed at a suspected Kurdish rebel. Two days after the bombing tensions remain high in Hakkari Province. Protesters hurled rocks at police and government buildings in Hakkari City on Friday. Five civilians were injured as police fired in the air and used tear gas in response. On Thursday there were similar protests in the town of Semdinli where crowds tore down electricity pylons and set fire to a police checkpoint. The clashes were sparked by an explosion in a local bookstore, where the crowd immediately turned on a man they believed was the bomber. He was later identified as an intelligence officer with Turkey's security forces. It is thought the bomb was meant for the shop's owner, who is reportedly linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). As anger continues to mount in Semdinli, Turkey's interior minister has called for calm. He sent a team to the region to investigate but the incident has revived ugly memories of the 1990s when Turkey's fight against Kurdish militants in the area was at its height and its murkiest. With the press here full of speculation that Turkey's security forces may have reverted to using summary executions, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised a transparent inquiry. He has vowed to uncover the truth and punish whoever is responsible. |
| Posted by:lotp |