Turkey imposes curfews in Diyarbakir ahead of anti-PKK operation

Turkey has imposed curfews in several areas in Diyarbakir in preparation for a new operation against the Kurdish militants active in the southeastern province.

The Diyarbakir governor’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that a total of 176 curfews had been imposed across Diyarbakir.

“A curfew is in place from Wednesday 0800 (0500 GMT) until a second announcement is made” in the villages and towns in the Diyarbakir districts of Silvan, Kulp, Lice and Hazro, the statement read.

The curfews, the statement added, will allow Turkish security forces to “neutralize” members and collaborators of the “separatist terrorist organization,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkey has banned the PKK as a terrorist organization. The militant group has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984. The three-decade conflict has left more than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, dead.

SS