Turkey in crisis: 'Ripple effect' from Syria and Iraq sees worst flare-up in Kurdish conflict in 20 years
When men and women of south-eastern Turkey used to join the armed Kurdish insurgency, their families would say they had “gone to the mountains”. Much of the fighting between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the state happened in the hills, but now it has reached towns and cities such as Diyarbakir.
The old walled part of the Kurdish cultural capital has been under near-continuous lockdown since 2 December. Police and soldiers battle youths linked to the PKK who dug trenches in the backstreets of the area known as Sur and declared it an “autonomous zone”.
The death of six people, including three children, in the bombing of a police compound near the city last week raised fears that the conflict is escalating. Yesterday a police officer and soldier were killed by sniper fire and two Kurdish militants were shot dead.
The sound of gunfire crackles across Diyarbakir, punctuated by the thump of heavy artillery. Masked officers patrol sandbagged checkpoints and fighter jets tear overhead toward PKK targets in the mountains of northern Iraq.
A cloud of depression hangs over the city. Locals wryly observe that even the Syrian refugees have packed up and left. “Normally we go and meet with friends in cafés, we drink beer in bars,” said a 30-something who asked not to be named. “But now, when we drink or do things we love, we judge ourselves. People are being killed just on the other side of the wall. We feel guilty even when we have sex.”
In a conflict that has dragged on since 1984, this is the first time that so much of the fighting has taken place in urban centres. A string of towns across the region have been placed under round-the-clock curfews. It is civilians who have paid the price. Thousands have fled their homes. Kurdish groups claim that at least 38 civilians have been killed in Diyarbakir after being caught in the middle. They include a mother-of-three who died after a rocket or shell smashed into her home as she shared a family meal.
Link to Full Articile:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 18331.html
