New curfew order announced in Diyarbakir

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (K24) – On Wednesday, Turkish authorities in Diyarbakir, the main city in Kurdistan of Turkey, extended a curfew in central Sur district to five more neighborhoods.

The curfew in Sur has been in place intermittently since November.

K24 Diyarbakir bureau reported that out of 15 neighborhoods in Sur, 11 are currently under curfew. The new curfew order is in effect as of Wednesday midnight.

An exodus of thousands of people from the area started following the announcement, said a K24 correspondent, unable to immediately give an exact figure because of the extraordinary circumstances.

The governorate of Diyarbakir province declared in a statement on its website that the curfew aimed to end "terrorist activities" in the historic Sur district where trenches were dug and barricades were set up by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) affiliates.

PKK's youth wing, Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDGH) members have been fighting Turkish soldiers and police in dozens of Kurdish towns and cities since the peace talks between the government and the Kurdish group collapsed in late July.

The conflict has cost hundreds of deaths from both sides. More than 200 civilians have been killed according to a report released Monday by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.

Meanwhile, hours after the new curfew order, a Turkish lieutenant, two sergeants, and a police commissary were killed in clashes with the Kurdish fighters, K24 Diyarbakir said.

General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces confirmed the news in a statement on its website, adding that four other soldiers were wounded during the clashes.

Reporting by Siddiq Eren and Hesen Kako in Diyarbakir

Editing by Ava Homa